Ipswich Town 2-1 Sunderland: result and report

Report

Ipswich Town beat Sunderland 2-1 with a 90th-minute winner. The late timing made it dramatic, but the result fairly reflected who created the better chances, even though Sunderland had more of the ball.

How the goals came

Ipswich Town went ahead on 24 minutes when Emersonn scored from Julio Enciso's assist. The lead did not last, because Nilson Angulo equalised for Sunderland on 39 minutes.

The game stayed level until the final minute of normal time. Jack Clarke then scored the winner on 90 minutes, set up by Saša Lukić, so Ipswich Town took the points at the very end.

Emersonn was named player of the match. His opening goal still mattered after Sunderland's reply, because it gave Ipswich Town the platform the late winner built on.

Ipswich Town: less of the ball, better chances

Sunderland had 62% of possession and far more dangerous attacks, 56 to 35. Yet Ipswich Town created the better openings, finishing with 1.43 xG to Sunderland's 0.91.

The pressure pattern backs that up. Ipswich Town recorded the higher average pressure despite the smaller share of the ball. That suggests Sunderland's time in possession rarely turned into sustained threat, while Ipswich Town looked more dangerous when they did attack.

Sunderland: chances left behind

There is a fair case for Sunderland, though. They had more shots on target, four to three. The big chances were level at two each, but Sunderland missed both of theirs, while Ipswich Town missed only one.

So the margin between the sides was narrower than the xG gap alone implies. Ipswich Town still did more with fewer attempts, and that was the difference on the day.