Sunderland edges Blades in thriller
Sunderland came out on top in a breathless Championship encounter to keep it within touching distance of the automatic promotion places after beating Sheffield United 2-1.
Kieffer Moore missed from the spot just 13 minutes in to give the Blades an early advantage on a day that had seen both Leeds United and Burnley drop points.
Eliezer Mayenda punished that missed opportunity with a cool finish beyond Michael Cooper, capitalising on a mistake by Jack Robinson to put the Black Cats ahead.
The opening goal sparked a manic eight minutes at the Stadium of Light, with Luke O'Nien then putting through his own net to level up the contest.
Wilson Isidor then restored Sunderland's advantage in the 35th minute, skipping past Anel Ahmedhodzic before curling the ball beautifully into the far-right corner.
The Blades had more of the play after the break but were unable to find a leveller as Rhian Brewster shot wide and the home side survived a late goalmouth scramble.
Sunderland has scored 116 league goals in New Year’s Day games, with only Bolton Wanderers (123) and Newcastle United (117) scoring more in Football League history.
The result means Sunderland remains fourth but are now only two points behind second-placed Burnley, while the Blades, who went into Christmas three points clear at the top of the table, are three points behind table-topping Leeds.
At the MKM Stadium, Alex Gilbert's goal in second-half stoppage time earned Middlesbrough a dramatic late victory over lowly Hull City.
With Boro seemingly heading for a fourth consecutive draw, Delano Burgzorg raced down the left and teed up fellow substitute Gilbert, who netted from close range.
After an opening 45 minutes that saw just two efforts on target, Hayden Hackney went closest to opening the scoring when his effort crashed against the post after the break.
Finn Azaz and Burgzorg also went close for Michael Carrick's side before they eventually breached Hull's defence to kickstart 2025 by moving up to fifth in the table.
Middlesbrough completed a league double over Hull for the second time in the last three seasons, having also beaten them home and away in the 2022-23 campaign.
Hull, meanwhile, remains in the bottom three despite showing signs of improvement since the recent arrival of new head coach, Ruben Selles.
