Dominant Sunderland held by flat United
Sunderland turned in a sparkling display at a gloomy Stadium of Light but was forced to settle for a point against Manchester United after a 0-0 draw.
With its primary objective of UEFA Champions League qualification complete, United knew a win would be enough to all but secure a third-place finish, but Michael Carrick's side produced a flat performance.
Noah Sadiki and Brian Brobbey went close as Sunderland started brightly, with both producing sharp efforts on target that forced Senne Lammens into action across the first half.
United improved after the break, but the visitors were not able to translate that into much in the final third as the Black Cats nearly took the lead when Lutsharel Geertruida saw a long-range strike rattle the base of the post.
Brobbey had earlier produced a fine shot under pressure that Lammens parried as Sunderland pressed for the opener, and the striker then saw a penalty appeal waved away after a tussle with Luke Shaw.
Led by Bruno Fernandes, United surged forward in stoppage-time, in which Matheus Cunha squandered two decent chances, the latter of which was a tame effort struck straight at Robin Roefs.
Despite his side turning out a flat display, Carrick remained positive.
"It is a positive result in terms of the point. Was it going to be a perfect game? We weren't expecting a perfect game," he said.
"It is what it is. It's not something we need to overthink and it's hard to be negative. It was just one of those games. A decent enough point and we nearly won it at the end.
"This is a tough place to come. They've had a good record here all season. We'll take the point, a clean sheet is always good to get.
"As a team we could have been a bit better but we know what the boys can do.
"Everyone has contributed in such a good way, I'm pleased with the overall connection, communication and willingness to work for each other today.
"We gave everything this week. We've got our last home game of the season that we will work towards this week. We look forward to it.
"It's important to finish the season strong and I think today is a positive note for us."
Sunderland, meanwhile, might feel it deserved more from the match, but the point nonetheless took the Black Cats up to 48 points for the season.
Only twice has it earned more points across a Premier League campaign – 58 points in 1999-2000 and 57 in 2000-2001.
"We probably created enough chances to win the game, but chances don't always mean goals," Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris said.
"When we got the momentum and the chances, we weren't clinical enough.
"The Premier League is very demanding, so when you don't score, you are always on the edge. But overall, I think the lads did well.
"This is a good sign, especially for our first year in the Premier League after eight years. It's good, it shows our season has been excellent so far if we're disappointed at home after a draw against Manchester United. It's a good sign for the club."
