Champions League-bound Manchester United held 0-0 by Sunderland in English Premier League

LONDON – Manchester United would probably be forgiven for taking their foot off the gas a little after qualifying for the Champions League last weekend, but there will be concerns for next season after an understrength side were held 0-0 at Sunderland in the English Premier League on May 9.

It was the home team who started off strongly. Noah Sadiki found himself running all the way through to the United goal in the seventh minute, but his low drive was saved by Senne Lammens.

Four minutes later, Brian Brobbey dribbled into the box but once again the Red Devils’ goalkeeper was alert and came off his line to stop the Sunderland striker.

Speaking to Premier League Productions, Lammens said: “We had to work very hard to keep the clean sheet away at Sunderland, given the way they have been playing this season.

“We always knew it was going to be a difficult one. We weren’t at our best on the ball quality-wise, but the most important things were probably not conceding and working together as a team defensively. We can take some good points away from that.

“These are still important games for us because we want to finish as high as possible, with the most points as possible. However, Sunderland away is a tough one because they are a good team who work well together.

“I think it wasn’t our day with the ball, but we can proud of the things we did without the ball,” the 23-year-old Belgian added.

Goalscoring opportunities were few for United, who had half a chance in the 29th minute when Matheus Cunha lofted a pass into the box and picked out Joshua Zirkzee, but the forward’s header flew just over the crossbar.

The wet conditions did not make it easier either, as United struggled and failed to get into a rhythm following five changes made from the team who beat Liverpool 3-2 on May 3.

Sunderland then threatened to scored again with two chances in quick succession.

Brobbey’s effort from the edge of the box went just yards wide in the 32nd minute, and two minutes later Sadiki unleashed a powerful shot which was blocked and deflected out for a corner.

The midfielder missed another close-range header from a corner in first-half stoppage time, and Sunderland would have felt that they deserved to be in the lead with the chances they had.

The Red Devils emerged from the interval with a little more fight. Cunha shot from distance in the 50th minute but just lacked that sharpness as the ball ballooned high over the bar.

Three minutes later, United had their best chance of the game at that stage when Amad Diallo found himself well ahead in the box, but his attempted pass to find a teammate was thwarted by the Black Cats’ defence.

As the away side started to string passes together, Sunderland kept the pressure on, backed by the vocal support of their home fans.

Lammens was called into action again in the 62nd minute when he made an impressive save from Brobbey, who should have made it 1-0 when he was nearly through on goal in the United box.

Both teams found it tough to break the deadlock, and again it was Sunderland who failed to make it count when it mattered. Lutsharel Geertruida took a shot from the edge of the penalty area in the 71st minute that looked like it was going to find the net, but the ball hit the left post and the Red Devils escaped with a scare.

There were no goals as United interim boss Michael Carrick looked frustrated towards the end of the game, even if it was a valuable lesson should he get the job on a permanent basis for next season.

On their mentality heading into the final two games of the season, Lammens added: “We can’t stop here. I know the Champions League was our main goal, but we want to finish with as many points as possible. We want to finish with a good feeling to build on for next season, so we know how important these final games are for that.

“We have got Champions League, but we also want to finish third. We don’t want to finish below third.”