Sunderland midfielder Granit Xhaka reflected on his side’s 0-0 draw with Man Utd in the Premier League on Saturday.
Xhaka captained Sunderland against United(Image: 2026 Getty Images)
Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka described Manchester United as a “really good team” after drawing 0-0 with the Reds on Saturday. United headed into the game on the high of securing qualification for the Champions League, but they struggled against a well-coached Sunderland side.
After gaining promotion from the Championship, the Black Cats have consolidated in the Premier League this season, and they came close to breaking the deadlock in the second half when Lutsharel Geertruida hit the post.
Senne Lammens made a handful of important saves to ensure the points were shared, but former Arsenal midfielder Xhaka was complimentary about United when he spoke during his post-match interview.
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“It was nearly a perfect game,” he told Sky Sports. “We created so many chances against a really good team. If you have so many chances, you need to score one, for sure. We had good momentum.
“This is part of the process, to keep believing in ourselves. I give you a very easy answer: stay humble. We just got promoted. The demands are very high. We know where to improve, stay humble, and stay kind, because we’re getting there.
“We aren’t thinking about Europe. We have two games left and want to finish as good as possible. Let’s get points and see where we are in the end. We want to finish with a good feeling. If you want to survive in the Premier League you need that. We can be proud of ourselves.”
Michael Carrick made five changes to face Sunderland, but he rejected the suggestion that they had an impact. “It’s one game. It’s the time of the season. We’ve done a lot of good work and some changes today and I thought the attitude to the boys was really good,” he told Premier League Productions.
“Today is a positive result in terms of the point. Was it going to be a perfect game? We weren’t expecting a perfect game. It is what it is. It’s not something we need to overthink and it’s hard to be negative.”
Asked how they performed, Carrick said: “They’re not on trial. 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”.
Carrick added on United’s performance: “It’s 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. We’ve scored a lot of goals this season, it’s just one of those games. A decent enough point and we nearly won it at the end.”
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