Sunderland's2-2 draw with Liverpool was a fantastic result for the Black Cats which saw the fight and heart that the club has become known for in recent years as they came back from behind on two separate occasions.

However, it took nerves of steel from Jermain Defoe who was given the responsibility to take both penalties, which he did with ease, despite protests from fellow teammate Fabio Borini, who wanted to take them.

Captain's view

It always makes for an ugly scene when players argue over who is taking penalties and this was the case for Sunderland and skipper, John O'Shea had his say after the game on the incident. The captain saw the positive sign in the situation given the fact that it showed Borini's confidence and he thinks it is "great" that he wants to step up and take them, although he also felt it likely added "pressure" to Defoe, which if it did, he handled expertly.

Borini had previously taken spot kicks for Sunderland which was why he wanted to take them again, but O'Shea believes it was the right call as the experienced English forward is the "man in form" and admitted he would have been "shocked" if Defoe had allowed Borini to take them.

Sunderland have now scored 23 consecutive penalties in Premier League action which shows between the pair of them they have capable talent from 12 yards, but O'Shea revealed that Borini may now be "waiting a while to get back on them" which he went on to say the striker "won't be too happy about," before insisting that is a "good" thing.

Even though the debate over who is taking the penalties is a trivial one, it shows that the passion and dedication is there and that is going to be needed if Sunderland are to once again beat the drop.

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About the author
Matthew Wilkinson
Huddersfield University in Sports Journalism. Twitter- MC_Wilkinson1