Indy view on ‘Sunlan’:
Sunderland getting a draw would have stretched belief, of anyone who watched the first half-hour.
United, wearing black armbands in memory of their coach driver who died on Friday night, treated their opponents to a similar exhibition to that which ripped apart Zalaegerszeg on Tuesday. Quicker, more skilful, more imaginative, they allowed the home side barely a kick and it was a surprise they emerged from this purple patch with only one goal to show for it.
It arrived in the seventh minute after David Beckham took a quick corner to Keane, whose cross was blocked but the clearance ballooned to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The Norwegian super-sub's goals often overshadow his other qualities and on this occasion he had the nous to notice Giggs' break from the left and headed into the Welshman's path. Giggs took one touch and steered a shot low to Thomas Sorensen's left and into the far corner.
A 35-yard shot from McAteer that Roy Carroll tipped away for a corner interrupted the flow but, with Beckham, Keane, Giggs and Juan Sebastian Veron dominant, United attacked in waves. A shot from Giggs was blocked, Solskjaer's touch was a fraction too strong as he burst from the right and Giggs again shot just wide.
Reid's interval talks are notorious for their force and choice of language and Sunderland benefited from his wisdom because they began the second half with far greater purpose. Twice minor openings fell to Kevin Phillips only for him to be outnumbered before he had a chance to get in a shot but it was a tribute to the home side's play that Phil Neville was booked for a reckless challenge after 51 minutes.
Even so United were superior and it came as a surprise when Sunderland equalised after 70 minutes. McAteer, lurking at the far post, had a shot cleared off the line by Laurent Blanc and as the ball ricocheted round the six-yard box, Flo stuck out a long leg and hooked into the roof of the net.
United responded furiously but were frustrated. Keane boiled over and he will miss the games against Leeds (away), Tottenham (home) and Charlton (away). That is before the FA even consider his book, his tackle on Alf Inge Haaland, and his past record. Given he has a knee injury that requires surgery, United's fixture against Bolton on 11 September could be the last we see of him for some time.
The Observer:
All Manchester United's sins returned to haunt them as they threw away what looked like a straightforward three points against a team they took six from last season.
Not only was Roy Keane sent off in the final minute of the game for a spiteful elbow aimed at the new captain of the Republic of Ireland after the ball had gone, but David Beckham's temper made a comeback.
An ordinary game was enlivened by the antics of the England captain in the second half. Sven-Göran Eriksson has claimed he likes to see temperament in a player, though he may not have been too impressed with the plain silliness Beckham exhibited here, showing all his old petulance in doing his best to earn a red card after picking up a wholly unnecessary yellow one.
Rio Ferdinand was penalised near the touchline in the 55th minute, and Beckham was correctly booked by Uriah Rennie for failing to retreat the necessary 10 yards at the free-kick.
He then compounded this folly by arguing the toss with the referee, during which time Sir Alex Ferguson popped out of the dugout to add his twopenneth, and Beckham was clearly still seething as play restarted.
Had a bookmaker been available one would have put money on him going into his next challenge rashly, and sure enough he clattered into Phil Babb and seconds later fouled Michael Gray for good measure. It was comedy rather than thuggery, but Beckham was lucky to find a modern referee with a sense of humour.
The Telegraph:
A few minutes into the second half, Rennie had suffered enough protests from Beckham and he was shown a yellow card for not retreating quickly enough at a free kick. The punishment might not have fitted the crime, as Sir Alex Ferguson made clear to the referee, but the card was really for too much silly behaviour.
Roy Keane's temper got the better of him in the dying seconds of what, for a long time, had been a benign encounter, when he shockingly elbowed his former Republic of Ireland colleague, Jason McAteer, in the face. It was so blatant that Keane will not need to seek another huge publisher's advance so that he can knock out a second 100,000-word tome to inform us he meant it.