Palace are still adjusting to life without Eberechi Eze, who left for Arsenal in the summer, and also weren’t helped by the absence of the injured Ismaila Sarr.
Eze and Sarr were the perfect complement for Mateta last term but without either of them on the field today, the French striker lacked service and looked isolated.
Pino, who was signed as Eze’s replacement, showed signs of why Palace parted with £26m to bring him in from Villarreal but offers a completely different kind of attacking threat.
The Spain forward regularly drifted into central areas rather than staying wide and putting in crosses for last season’s top scorer Mateta.
It did start to click a little better late in the game as Sunderland tired but the Eagles came up against a goalkeeper in form.
The draw means Palace are on the longest unbeaten run of any current Premier League side, avoiding defeat in each of their last 10 games – winning three and drawing seven.