Sunderland vs Crystal Palace. Premier League.
Stadium of LightAttendance38,941.
Sunday 25 September 2016 19:00, UK
David Moyes' wait for a first Premier League win as Sunderland's manager goes on after his side blew a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at home to Crystal Palace.
Jermain Defoe exploited Joe Ledley's wild pass in defence to put the home side ahead before the break and added a second after it to put the Wearsiders on course for victory.
Palace hit back 66 seconds later through Ledley, however, before James McArthur levelled and Christian Benteke headed in the winner deep in stoppage time.
Six games into the season, Moyes' only successes as Sunderland boss remain in the EFL Cup - and his side now moves to the bottom of the table.
It was a tentative start from both sides, with neither displaying much pace to begin with and both guilty of sloppy decision making as they tried to take a grip of the game.
Indeed, it took the best part of half an hour for any sort of clear-cut chance to come as both sides struggled to set a tempo which would give them an edge.
Patrick van Aanholt and Adnan Januzaj were both threats going forward for Sunderland but final balls often let the side down.
Likewise, Yohan Cabaye should have done better when Jason Puncheon threaded him in than send a tame ball back across goal where they was nobody looking to pounce.
When that first opportunity came, it was Defoe who had it with an imaginative flick from van Aanholt's cross and it dropped just wide of the target.
The next time the former England forward was involved, he put Sunderland ahead - but the goal was one Mandanda and Ledley won't look back on fondly.
The goalkeeper's threaded pass to the Wales midfielder was fast and a little ambitious given the amount of players from both sides in close proximity as he played it 30 yards out from goal.
Januzaj applied pressure on Ledley and he was rushed into a pass back but only played in the lurking Defoe.
He then got between James Tomkins and James McArthur to poke past Mandanda. Ledley will be blamed by some for what happened but the keeper was just as culpable.
Unbeaten in their last 22 league games in which they have led at half-time, Sunderland will have come out for the restart optimistic of preserving their lead.
In the end, that run came to an end as they came apart in spectacular fashion and they will be ruing the fact they did not take all three points, let alone just one.
Palace broke with purpose after a mistake from Januzaj and a three-man passing move ended with Puncheon drawing a good stop from Jordan Pickford.
Their momentum was nipped when Defoe got his second on the hour from substitute Duncan Watmore's cutback after his initial shot had been saved seconds earlier by Mandanda.
But Palace's response to that was emphatic, Ledley reducing the deficit again a minute and six seconds later with a strike which was deflected away from Jordan Pickford by van Aanholt.
Sunderland missed out on a third after a move which began with a sublime pass down the line from Lee Cattermole and ended with Defoe blazing his hat-trick chance over the bar.
And they paid for that when substitute Zeki Fryers swung in for McArthur to head a leveller from close range with 15 minutes left.
There was more drama to come and for many Sunderland supporters, they could probably feel it coming given the clear deflation at surrendering a lead and being pegged back to 2-2.
Javier Manquillo gave away a clumsy free-kick wide on the left four minutes into time added on and when it came in, Benteke headed over the line to complete a remarkable comeback.
Sunderland: Pickford (5) , Manquillo (5), van Aanholt (5), Kone (5), Djilobodji (4), Kirchhoff (5), Cattermole (6), Ndong (5), Januzaj (7), Pienaar (2), Defoe (7)
Subs: Watmore (8), Anichebe (2), McNair (1)
Crystal Palace: Mandanda (5), Ward (6), Delaney (6), Tomkins (6), Kelly (5), Ledley (6), McArthur (7), Puncheon (7), Cabaye (6), Townsend (6), Benteke (6)
Subs: Wickham (4), Fryers (5), Lee (1)
Man of the match: Duncan Watmore
