Mount and Sesko score first home goals as Man Utd beat Sunderland

Manchester United eased the pressure on Ruben Amorim with a 2-0 win over Sunderland at Old Trafford, thanks to first-half goals from Mason Mount and Benjamin Sesko, their first at home for the club.

Having been promoted to the starting line-up in place of Matheus Cunha, Mount gave United an eighth-minute lead when he steered a smart volley home from just inside the area.

After making several saves to keep the scoreline at 1-0, Robin Roefs was beaten again just after the half-hour mark, with Sesko netting his second Premier League goal.

Watch Sesko's goal

Sunderland improved after matching United's 3-4-3 system shortly before half-time, having a penalty overturned and going close through substitute Dan Ballard, but they could not find a response.

The result lifts United one point off Sunderland in the table, with the Red Devils eighth on 10 points and the Black Cats still sixth.

How the match unfolded

Mount settled any nerves among the home fans early on, brilliantly controlling Bryan Mbeumo's cross out of the air before striking the bouncing ball into the bottom-right corner.

With United's tails up, Roefs parried a bending effort from former Sunderland loanee Amad Diallo before making an almost identical save to keep Mbeumo out moments later.

Roefs’ best save came in the 25th minute as he tipped Bruno Fernandes' curling effort against the crossbar, but the Dutchman was powerless to prevent Sesko from sidefooting home six minutes later, after Diogo Dalot's long throw had flicked off Nordi Mukiele's head.

Sunderland were awarded a penalty when Sesko challenged Trai Hume with a raised foot before half-time, only for referee Stuart Attwell to rule there was no foul after a VAR review. The Black Cats also went close from the subsequent corner, with Ballard heading just wide.

The visitors continued to push after the interval, with Eliezer Mayenda firing over. But, they did not create a clear opening until the 90th minute, when substitute Chemsdine Talbi shot straight at United debutant Senne Lammens, who kept United's first clean sheet of the season.

Amorim's changes do the trick

Amorim has been forced to defend his use of a 3-4-3 formation on numerous occasions this season, and at Friday's pre-match press conference, he reiterated his belief that the Red Devils' primary problem was not his system.

Though there was no change of formation on Saturday, Amorim did make five alterations to his starting XI, and a couple of those introduced had a major impact.

Mount made his first start since August and immediately repaid Amorim's faith with a sweeping finish past Roefs, which capped a flowing 18-pass move.

Diallo was the standout United player in the first half, getting the hosts on the front foot with several driving runs upfield. The only blot on his display was a poor follow-up header after Fernandes' shot was pushed against the woodwork, which spun wide of a gaping goal.

The sight of Sesko getting a second poacher's goal in as many games will also encourage Amorim, while Lammens was composed on his debut, aside from one nervy incident in which he challenged Bertrand Traore, who was booked for simulation.

Bigger tests are still to come for United, though the result represents a step in the right direction.  Amorim will now have two weeks to work with his players on the training ground ahead of a huge clash with Liverpool on October 19.

Damage done before Le Bris switch

Sunderland entered Saturday's game having made the best start to a Premier League campaign by any promoted club for 13 years, with last week's 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest putting them more than a quarter of the way to the magical 40-point mark.

Regis Le Bris' side created the first opening after four minutes, but an offside flag against Simon Adingra spared Traore's blushes when he miskicked from six yards out.

However, Sunderland let themselves down with some loose defending for Mount's opener, affording him far too much time to control Mbeumo's ball before picking his spot.

Le Bris will also be disappointed by the manner of United's second goal, as Sunderland packed their own six-yard box, but still failed to defend a simple long throw.

Clearly unhappy with his team's defending, Le Bris sacrificed Adingra for Ballard in the 37th minute and switched to a three-man backline, and Sunderland immediately improved as Granit Xhaka's piledriver tested Lammens.

But in truth, the damage was already done by that point. Sunderland's extra centre-back gave them more security against United's counter-attacks, but United's own back three remained relatively comfortable.

Despite a second defeat of the season, Sunderland can still reflect on a fine start to 2025/26 over the next two weeks, before they host Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Club reports

Man Utd report | Sunderland report

What the managers said

Ruben Amorim: "That is the kind of game where when we're not playing well we're defending well. We had our moments, we were focused and competitive. Not the perfect performance. Senne [Lammens] did really well. We were a competitive and adult team today. We need to win these games with a clean sheet. Good for us.

Regis le Bris: "We didn't start well, it's a bit disappointing because we had good ambition here. The first 30 minutes were not at the level expected or the Premier League.

"They [United] scored twice then after that it became another game. We changed our shape to make a one-v-one game, it was a bit chaotic but at least we were back in the game. We were not strong enough to create chances today, only at the end."

Next PL fixtures

Key facts

Amorim (W19 D12 L19) became the first United manager to win his 50th game in charge of the club since Sir Alex Ferguson in November 1987 against Bury.

Having failed to score in his first five Premier League games for United, Sesko has struck in consecutive league games for the first time since a run of five between December 2024/January 2025 for RB Leipzig.

Sunderland have failed to score in three of their four away games in the Premier League this season (W1 D1 L2), while they’ve now scored in just seven of their last 21 matches on the road in the competition (W4 D1 L16).

United have won four of their last eight Premier League games (D1 L3), as many wins as in their previous 21 (W4 D5 L12), while five of their 10 victories under Ruben Amorim in the competition have come against promoted sides.