Sunderland played out a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon

Sunderland defender Nordi Mukiele has delivered a message of gratitude to supporters following Sunday’s battling 1-1 draw against Aston Villa at the Stadium of Light.

The Black Cats had to come from behind in adverse circumstances against Unai Emery’s side having been reduced to 10 men partway through the first half. Reinildo Mandava was dismissed for kicking out at visiting full-back Matty Cash shortly before the interval, and the Poland international would go on to open the scoring with a strike from distance after the break.

But Sunderland rallied admirably despite their numerical disadvantage, and restored parity in the 75th minute courtesy of a well-taken finish from Wilson Isidor, smartly assisted by captain Granit Xhaka.

And taking to social media after the match Mukiele - who put in another standout display at the heart of defence - took the time to reflect on a well-earned point, as did several of his teammates.

What did Nordi Mukiele say after Sunderland’s draw vs Aston Villa?

Writing on X, the French defender said: “Tough battle and a point that felt like three today. Proud of the lads, we stay true to our values. Thanks for the amazing support again and again! Haway the lads!”

Elsewhere, Chris Rigg shared his thoughts on a mixed afternoon. The England youth international was handed a first ever Premier League start by Regis Le Bris, and grew into the game nicely before he was taken off for Dan Ballard early on in an effort to shore up Sunderland’s back line following Reinildo’s sending off.

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He wrote: “Not exactly what I was hoping for on my first PL start, however these things happen and the lads dug deep to get a very important point today and the fans did more than enough to help us. Thank you for your support. HWTL.”

Goal scorer Isidor also shared his view, stating: “Flying at the SoL. Amazing atmosphere today, you carried us to this well-deserved point”, while skipper Xhaka added: “Big effort, big support, big point”.

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Another player who caught the eye on Sunday was Noah Sadiki, who put in a characteristically energetic display in the centre of the park. Indeed, such were his exertions that the midfielder went down with an apparent cramp in the final minutes, although the 20-year-old offered a cheeky explanation as to what really happened.

In a post to their official social media accounts, Sunderland shared a photo of Sadiki being assisted by Villa defender Tyrone Mings alongside the caption: “It comes as no surprise that Noah Sadiki ended up with cramp”, to which the Black Cats talent replied: “Didn’t have cramps it was to gain some time”.

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