BLACK CATS PUT ON A MASTERCLASS AND TEAR EAGLES APART
DAVID MOYES and Sunderland received a massive boost after thumping relegation rivals Crystal Palace — and former Black Cats boss Sam Allardyce — 4-0 at Selhurst Park.
Victory moved Sunderland level on points with Palace and just two points from safety.
‘I don’t think I can think of many times as a manager I have been 4-0 up at half-time, I don’t know if I ever have been,’ said Moyes.
‘It’s three points and more confidence, more belief. It is going to be a tough job but if we had lost it would have been much tougher. Every game is mustwin.’
Lamine Kone opened the scoring in the 10th minute, pouncing on a loose ball after Eagles goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey spilled it.
Two minutes before the break, it was 2-0 as Didier Ndong fired a 25-yarder beyond the Welshman.
Things got a lot worse for Palace before the break, as Jermain Defoe scored an injury-time double to take his tally to 14 league goals this season.
Tottenham moved out on their own in second place with a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough.
In a frustrating evening for Spurs at White Hart Lane, they eventually managed to close the gap on Chelsea to nine points after Harry Kane’s penalty.
West Ham began life without Dimitri Payet with victory over Southampton.
Manolo Gabbiadini opened the scoring on his debut but Andy Carroll, played in by Pedro Obiang, levelled.
Obiang put the visitors ahead before half-time before Mark Noble scored seven minutes into the second half to secure a 3-1 victory.
Burnley’s woeful record on the road continued yesterday as they slipped to a 2-1 loss at Watford.
Troy Deeney opened the scoring on 10 minutes after Jeff Hendrick had been sent off four minutes previously, before M’Baye Niang put the hosts 2-0 ahead in firsthalf stoppage time.
Ashley Barnes’ late penalty was no more than a consolation.
Saido Berahino was a second-half substitute for Stoke but his new club lost 1-0 at West Brom, as James Morrison’s sixth-minute strike was enough to seal three points for the Baggies.