EPL 2016/17: Manchester United 3-1 Sunderland: 5 Talking Points

United secured another win, putting three past Sunderland at Old Trafford

Manchester United continued their rich vein of form as goals from Daley Blind, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan helped them clinch a 3-1 victory over Sunderland, which saw the return of former Manchester United boss David Moyes to Old Trafford.

Full-back Blind’s low strike across goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in the 39^th minute opened the scoring for the hosts. Zlatan Ibrahimovic doubled United’s tally following a defensive error by Sunderland, before Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s outrageous back-flick finish sealed the points for Jose Mourinho’s side. Fabio Borini’s brilliant volleyed goal from the edge of the box in the 90^th minute was a mere consolation.

Here are the talking points from the encounter at Old Trafford:

---

#1 Victor Anichebe misses a glorious opportunity to give Sunderland the lead

Anichebe had an excellent opportunity to score in the first half

Manchester United, as expected prior to kick-off, dominated the possession statistics, with Paul Pogba being at the heart of most of United’s chance creation. However, Sunderland were not just relying on sitting back and forming a wall in front of Jose Mourinho’s men. They looked threatening on the counter-attack, with forwards Fabio Borini, Jermain Defoe and Victor Anichebe getting on the end of a defensive clearance and having a crack at David de Gea’s goal.

The tactic nearly worked for David Moyes’ men in the 30^th minute, as Defoe’s floated cross after a Sunderland break was completely missed by Marcos Rojo and the ball fell in the path of Anichebe who had only de Gea to beat.

His scuffed shot was blocked by the Spaniard, who also dealt with Borini’s follow-up before United’s defence cleared away the danger. Anichebe rightly had his hands on his head  – it was a glaring chance to put the Black Cats up and change the eventual outcome of the game.