David Moyes hailed his players' character as they earned a hard fought point against title-chasers Liverpool at the Stadium of Light.
While Daniel Sturridge had got Jurgen Klopp’s side on their way to victory with a looping header, Jermain Defoe levelled just six minutes later from the penalty spot as Didier Ndong went tumbling.
Spirit, desire and passion were key for Moyes’ side as they continued to frustrate the visitors before further drama saw Sadio Mane beat Sunderland’s offside and tap home.
But Defoe was to have the last say on the match as he netted his 11th goal of the season minutes later as Sunderland earned what could prove to be a crucial point.
Speaking post-match Moyes delivered his honest assessment.
“We had a good team out who played well," he said. "We worked really hard to keep with Liverpool. To come from behind twice was great credit to the players.
“If you said before the game would you take a point I'd have said yes. Our record at home recently has been very good.
“We've won a few games and that's why even today it was important that we didn't lose and to attack more. So what we need to do is build on it.
“We need pick up draws along the way, ultimately the wins are much more important, but I think today it would have been a tough thing to get three points,” he continued.
“I think we're beginning to play a bit better at the Stadium of Light. We're beginning to get the crowd realising that we're trying to get better and I think the crowd picked up on the players' energy today.
“We didn't show it in our last game but we showed it today and we needed it because we were playing against a very energetic Liverpool side. We deserved our point we really did.”
