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Iliman Ndiaye’s sensational solo goal was cancelled out by Granit Xhaka in a hard-fought game at the Stadium of Light We lost two points in the first 20-25 minutes: sloppy with the ball, too many easy mistakes. At this level you get punished. But in the second half we were very, very good and with more luck we could ahve won the game. Yesterday was not our best training session and we started the game the same way. We had a conversation and said that at this level we need to reach our standards every day. In my opinion, the first 20 minutes was not good enough. After this we were much better. I didn’t expect to come back to the Premier League. But in football you never know and to be back makes me happy. A fair result in the end. Both teams will feel they could have won; deep down both will know they could have lost. This is what it does to the Premier League table. Peep peep! 90+5 min Alcaraz is booked for a foul on someone. He’d had a helluva couple of minutes. 90+4 min: Great chance for Everton! With almost all his teammates ahead of the ball, Xhaka plays a casual pass that intercepted by Grealish, who releases Alcaraz on the far side. Everton have a two-on-one break, with Gueye to the left, but Alcaraz farts around inexplicably and loses the ball. He had to play it through to Gueye. 90+2 min Niall Mullen has saved the email of the night for injury time. “I do hope, ” he writes, “that Brian Brobbery’s nickname is ‘daylight’. ” Edit: Niall wrote in again to point his surname is Brobbey, not Brobbery. My fault, I’ve offered my resignation. 90 min Ballard and Gueye start wrestling as Mukiele lines up another long throw. It’s like watching a different sport, a couple of them in fact. Eventually the throw is headed down and lumped clear. There are six minutes of added time. 87 min Grealish beats Talbi through sleight of hip but crosses too close to Roefs. 85 min A loose pass from Xhaka is picked up by Mykolenko, who swishes a shot at goal from 25 yards. Roefs dives to his right to push it away, a fairly comfortably save. Apparently that was Everton’s first attempt at goal since Barry’s miss after 28 minutes. 85 min “Maybe the next innovation in set pieces will be for players to be ‘lifted’ to reach the throws or corners? ” says Andy Flintoff. Oh lordy. I think/hope/pray that’s illegal. 84 min: Double substitution for Everton Carlos Alcaraz and Tim Iroegbunam come on for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Jake O’Brien. 83 min: Double substitution for Sunderland Chemsdine Talbi and Brian Brobbery, the heroes at Chelsea last weekend, replace Wilson Isidor and Bertrand Traore. 81 min: Chance for Sunderland The corner is taken by Xhaka, then returned to him on the right. He whips a glorious first-time ball that is headed over by the stooping Mukiele, six yards out. That’s a pretty good chancee. Keane’s boot caught him as he maded contact with the ball – Mukiele thought it was in the face, apparently VAR has said it was the shoulder. 81 min Xhaka finds Sadiki on the left. He coaxes a nice inswinging cross that is headed towards goal by Hume and funbled behind for a corner by Pickford. The stop was routine but the ball slipped out of his grasp. 79 min Everton’s first long throw of the half – anyone else getting a bit bored by all these lineouts – leads to a corner on the right. Mc Neil swings it deep, Tarkowski heads it back and it doesn’t matter because the referee has given a free-kick to Sunderland. 77 min Mukiele’s early low cross from the right reaches Isidor, 12 yards out at the near post. He misses his kick and the ball hits hit standing leg. It was a tough chance anyway. 74 min Everton haven’t had a touch in the Sunderland box since half-time. The first half hour, when Everton were in complete control, seems a while ago. 73 min Sunderland are well on top now. Le Fee flicks the beat neatly to Reinildo, who beats Mc Neil and stands up a cross that is headed away. Moments later Sunderland have a stronger penalty appeal when Sadiki’s cross hits the hand of Keane. His arm was away from his body, but he was trying to pull it back in and he was only a couple of yards from Sadiki. VAR sticks with the on-field decision. 71 min A determined run from Isidor ends with an optimistic shot from a tight angle. Over the bar. 69 min Another long throw from Mukiele doesn’t beat the man at the near post. 67 min Everton repel a series of long throws from Sunderland. There are a couple of appeals for handball/a penalty; neither is worth a damn. 63 min Traore’s off-target snapshot hits Tarkowski and flies behind for a Sunderland corner. Nothing comes of it. 62 min: Everton substitution Dwight Mc Neil replaces theinjured goalscorer Iliman Ndiaye, who is able to walk off the field but has tweaked something. 60 min Sunderland are still on top but Everton are doing less defending on the seat of their pants. And they are starting to threaten on the break; as I type, the last man Ballard does well to stop a through ball reaching Beto. 58 min “By his standards, Enzo Le Fée had a quiet half, but that little pass to Isidor at the 39th minute was the kind of instinctive creativity that’s his hallmark, ” writes Kári Tulinius. “There aren’t many like him in Premier League. Rayan Cherki’s assists for Haaland at the weekend were like that too. And to think that France were worried that the national side lacked creativity. They might have a good team next summer. ” Their C team would have a puncher’s chance of making the semi-finals. 57 min: Everton substitution Beto replaces Thierno Barry, who shakes his head in disappointment as he runs off the field. He missed a glorious chance to put Everton 2-0 ahead. 55 min Grealish protects the ball from Hume and is fouled by Xhaka. Grealish bounces to his feet and he and Xhaka put their arms round each other’s shoulders in a gesture of mutual respect; that was rather sweet. 54 min Grealish isn’t impressed and has words with Hume when he gets to his feet. Granit Xhaka tries to play peacemaker. 53 min Hume is booked for an, ahem, agricultural tackle on Grealish. 52 min “Isn’t it nice after the past couple of seasons to see a promoted team thriving? ” says Richard Warwick. “Even after the three-up-three-down of last season, any talk of Sunderland being involved in a relegation scrap was all finished by early September. A win today and after 10 games, they’ll be second on their own. Now just don’t do a Forest. .. ” It’s dead refreshing, probably even more so because it’s such a big club. That said, I don’t think they are safe just yet – Phil Brown’s Hull team of 2008-09 had a similar start and were nearly relegated. Nearly. 49 min Almost another one for Sunderland! Le Fee belts a long-range drive that is going off target until it hits the back of Isidor and ricochets towards goal. Pickford, who had started to dive to his right, does well to slow his body down and slap the ball away. Le Fee’s low ball across the area was cleared as far as Xhaka, who swept a low shot from 20 yards that deflected in off Tarkowski. Pickford probably had it covered, but Tarkowski stuck out a leg and diverted it into the net via the underside of the crossbar. . Granit Xhaka equalises after 46 seconds of the second half! 46 min The second half is under way. And… Half-time reading Gary O’Neil was expected to return to Wolves after the sacking of Vitor Pereira, but an afternoon is a long time in football. Iliman Ndiaye’s thrilling solo goal separates the sides at the Stadium of Light. Everton were much the better team for half an hour – Jack Grealish hit the post, Thierno Barry missed a sitter – but Sunderland came on strong as half-time approached and are still in this game. 45 min Two minutes of added time. 44 min A big, swirling cross from the right is met at the far post by Ballard. His header hits the outstretched leg of his teammate Isidor, I think, and bounces up dangerously in front of goal. Keane sticks his head in first and gets the ball away. That was close. Everton need half-time, a phrase I didn’t think I’d be typing when they were in complete control earlier in the half. 43 min “If Xhaka doesn’t inspire the team to a win, then they’re taking a trip to the glue factory, ” writes Matt Dony. “And he won’t get to come. ”