- Young, A (18), Carew (33)
- Cisse (10)
- Date:2008-09-27
- Kick-off:15:00
- Venue:Villa Park
- Attendance:38706
- Referee:Walton, P
Live Commentary
90mins
Full-Tiime: ASTON VILLA 2-1 SUNDERLAND. Villa claim maximum points, fighting back with goals from Ashley Young and Carew after Cisse gave Sunderland the lead.
90mins
There are four minutes of added time.
89mins
Carlos Cuellar comes on for Carew to shore up the home defence.
89mins
George McCartney's name goes into the book.
88mins
Sunderland are applying the pressure as they search for a late equaliser.
86mins
Stiliyan Petrov becomes the first player to be booked.
86mins
Andy Reid see his free kick drift agonizingly wide.
85mins
Villa look to be heading for their third successive 2-1 win.
82mins
Gabriel Agbonlahor goes down the flank but runs out of pitch.
80mins
Sunderland push forward but Steed Malbranque's cross is over the bar.
78mins
Anthony Stokes replaces Kieran Richardson for Sunderland as the visitors make their last switch.
76mins
John Carew puts in more defensive work as he clears for Villa.
75mins
James Milner's centre is cleared by George McCartney.
73mins
Gareth Barry strikes one with his left foot but the ball flies into the Holt End.
71mins
James Milner hangs in a great cross but Villa are unable to convert.
69mins
James Milner comes on in place of Nicky Shorey for Villa.
67mins
Sunderland are applying pressure on the Villa goal as Andy Reid begins to pull the strings in midfield.
65mins
Gabriel Agbonlahor's drive is deflected just wide of the upright.
63mins
The second half has so far failed to match the excitement of the first period.
61mins
Craig Gordon gathers from Ashley Young's fiercely driven cross.
59mins
Sunderland make a double switch Andy Reid replacing Liam Miller and Daryl Murphy on for El Hadji Diouf.
57mins
Luke Young clears the lines for villa from a lofted Sunderland ball.
55mins
Stilian Petrov looks to be in pain after a clash with Steed Malbranque.
53mins
John Carew on defensive duties clears from Kieran Richardson's cross.
51mins
The second half has been low-key start apart from Miller's strike.
49mins
Liam Miller grazes the sidenetting with a driven effort.
47mins
Curtis Davies hits a searching ball forward but can't find a Villa shirt.
45mins
The second half is underway. Villa will be looking for more of the same. Sunderland will be hoping to get back into the game.
45mins
Villa lead at the break, goals from Young and Carew seeing them fight back after Cisse gave Sunderland the lead.
44mins
Gareth Barry's strike is smothered by Sunderland keeper Craig Gordon.
42mins
Nigel Reo-Coker puts in another great tackle. He has been impressive for Villa.
39mins
El Hadji Diouf pumps the ball forward but it runs out harmlessly for a goal kick to Villa.
37mins
John Carew drags his shot across the face of goal.
35mins
Sunderland will want to get back into this game after initially taking the lead.
33mins
Villa take the lead as John Carew back heels the ball past Craig Gordon from Stilian Petrov's pull-back.
30mins
The game has calmed down after a blistering start to the contest.
28mins
Danny Collins is receiving treatment after picking up a knock.
26mins
Brad Friedel collects comfortably from Kieran Richardson's cross.
24mins
Gabriel Agbonlahor looked to break for Villa but is let down by his touch.
22mins
George McCartney's cross is defelected out for a Sunderland corner.
19mins
Gabriel Agbonlahor unleases a shot but doesn't trouble Craig Gordon.
17mins
Villa equalise, Ashley Young beating Craig Gordon with a delightful curling free kick.
15mins
Steed Malbranque chips forward but Gareth Barry beats Djibril Cisse to the ball.
13mins
Sunderland look full of confidence after that goal.
10mins
Djibril Cisse produces a cool finish after being put in by an excellent angled ball from Steed Malbranque.
8mins
El Hadji Diouf tries to find Pascal Chimbonda but Ashley Young gets a foot in.
6mins
Nicky Shorey tries to lay the ball into the path of Gabriel Agbonlahor but Dean Whitehead intercepts.
4mins
Liam Miller strikes a shot from a tigh position, forcing Brad Friedel into the save.
2mins
It's a quiet start to this game, Villa just about edging possession.
0mins
Referee Peter Walton gets what should be a cracking clash underway.
0mins
Villa are unchanged once more.
0mins
George McCartney returns for Sunderland, but Phil Bardsley misses out with an ankle problem.
0mins
Steve Sidwell is unavailable for Villa with calf and knee problems.
Match Preview
Aston Villa's busy end to September continues with the visit of Sunderland to the Midlands on Saturday.
The visit of the Black Cats is Villa's fifth game in 12 days following Premier League victories over Tottenham and West Brom, a UEFA Cup first round first leg success over Litex Lovech and a Carling Cup meeting with QPR in midweek.
But despite the games coming thick and fast, Martin O'Neill's side have risen to the challenge and last Sunday's 2-1 derby win over West Bromwich Albion saw them move up to fourth place in the table.
John Carew and Gabby Agbonlahor continued their excellent starts to the new seasons with the goals that downed the Baggies - the England Under-21 striker now has four goals to his name and is knocking on the door of the full national side.
Such has been Villa's fine start to the new season that record signing James Milner has yet to start a Premier League game since his arrival from Newcastle United last month.
Spanish defender Carlos Cuellar has also been a permanent fixture on the bench since his own arrival from Rangers with O'Neill unwilling to tinker too much with a winning side.
That situation is unlikely to change this weekend with O'Neill expected to start with the same side that won 2-1 at The Hawthorns. Only Wilfred Bouma (ankle) and Steve Sidwell (knee) are unavailable.
Sunderland should arrive at Villa Park on something a high following last weekend's 2-0 derby victory over Middlesbrough.
The Wearsiders jumped up from the bottom third of the table to eighth after a late double salvo from Michael Chopra gave Roy Keane's side local bragging rights in the north-east.
However, their failure to dispatch League One side Northampton Town in 120 minutes of midweek Carling Cup football angered Keane, who blasted his players despite their progress to the fourth round on penalties.
Meanwhile, Chopra could step up off the bench at the weekend with El Hadji Diouf's place most at threat after the former Bolton forward's slow start to life with the Black Cats.
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Match Report
Aston Villa quickly recovered from their embarrassing midweek defeat at the hands of QPR to maintain their top-four challenge with a fine fight back inspired by the scintillating form of Ashley Young.
Villa, beaten only once in six games, demonstrated their class with Young scoring direct from a free-kick and John Carew notching a cheeky winner.
Sunderland boss Roy Keane, who was far from happy in midweek following the display against Northampton, was even more distressed by his side's defensive performance against Villa when they weakly surrendered an early advantage.
The fact that Sunderland were unable to cash in only highlighted the problems for Keane's team.
But it is little wonder that the Irishman is prepared to break the bank to acquire Dijbril Cisse on a permanent basis after the on-loan striker from Marseille scored a fine opening goal.
Under pressure Sunderland survived several Villa attacks and the perfect antidote was provided by Cisse when the striker rocked the Midland club with the opening goal after ten minutes.
The goal was created by Steed Malbranque showing vision in pushing the ball into an open space to enable Cisse to run across and shoot first time low past Brad Friedel.
Villa's response was to pressurise Sunderland and it resulted in a spectacular equaliser from Young in the 18th minute.
The young Villa winger was knocked off the ball by Liam Miller, but the former Watford player picked himself up and promptly swirled in a low free-kick to the right of Craig Gordon's groping hands.
Sunderland's defence was hardly secure from Young's free-kicks as Villa took a 33rd minute lead when the youngster's shot was blocked out to the right.
Stiliyan Petrov gained possession and his low cross was flicked into the net by Carew with his back to the Sunderland goal.
Only a brave save by Gordon prevented Gareth Barry scoring just before half-time following a low, left-wing cross from Carew.
The skill of Young was again a delight to watch and why he is not in the England team is a mystery to manager Martin O'Neill.
Sunderland's introduction of Andy Reid appeared to give them a better balance, but the equaliser eluded them despite producing more attacking moves than in the first half.
Aston Villa Team
Sunderland Team
Aston Villa | Sunderland |
Corners
| 5 | 5 |
Fouls
| 8 | 9 |
Goal attempts
| 12 | 9 |
Shots off target
| 4 | 6 |
Offsides
| 0 | 1 |
90mins
Gabriel Agbonlahor wins a free kick to ease the pressure.