Manchester United’s Tom Cleverley (left) challenges Will Buckle, of Sunderland.Manchester United were denied their first competitive win under Louis van Gaal yesterday as Jack Rodwell’s equaliser secured a 1-1 draw for Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
Juan Mata put Manchester United ahead in the 17th minute, providing a close-range finish to Antonio Valencia’s inviting cross inside the box.
But Rodwell broke his Black Cats duck 13 minutes later by heading in a Sebastian Larsson corner to draw things level.
The result means the Red Devils have got their first point of the new English Premier League season on the board.
But just over a week on from their campaign-opening home defeat to Swansea, Van Gaal’s men again looked unconvincing, even with Robin van Persie back in the team.
Earlier in the afternoon, Tottenham Hotspur made it six points from two games as players condemned as expensive mistakes last season starred in a 4-0 victory over QPR to ensure Harry Redknapp endured a miserable return to his former club.
Nacer Chadli scored twice while record signing Erik Lamela was pivotal in a playmaker role, sparking celebrations for new Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino, whose side sit top of the fledgling table, and more gloom for Redknapp.
QPR have no points from their first two games after being promoted back to the Premier League after a season in the second tier.
Ten-man Hull City came within seven minutes of holding on for victory over Stoke City but Nikica Jelavic’s opener was cancelled out by Ryan Shawcross’s scrambled effort late on.
Hull, who had James Chester sent off after 14 minutes, have four points from their first two games of the season, while Stoke’s late leveller ensured they got off the mark.
For Redknapp, sacked by the Spurs in 2012 after leading them to fourth in the English Premier League, an experiment with three central defenders backfired spectacularly with Tottenham scoring three times inside the opening 37 minutes.
Chadli, among the expensive patchwork of players recruited when Gareth Bale left for Real Madrid, chested down and fired home at the far post to put the hosts ahead.
Lamela’s corner was then headed powerfully in at the near post by Eric Dier, whose goal proved decisive at West Ham United last week, before the man derided as one of the biggest flops in Premier League history added a second assist.
Lamela glided towards the left side of the penalty area before clipping a cross to the far post where Chadli headed in, leaving Redknapp to revert to a back four at half-time, shutting the stable door when the horse had long since bolted.
While they were tighter at the back, Adebayor still rounded off the scoring with a crisp low finish when played in by Danny Rose.
Hull had Chester sent off early on for a lunging last-man tackle, but opened the scoring before the half-time break when Jelavic finished from close range after a Tom Huddlestone shot was only parried by goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.
The Tigers’ hopes of winning back-to-back league games for the first time in 11 months were shredded when Shawcross scrambled the ball over the line after a Phil Bardsley effort hit the post.
Results and standings
Premier League
Hull City 1
Jelavic 42;
Stoke City 1
Shawcross 83;
HT: 1-0. Att: 24,348.
Red card: Chester (HC) 14.
Sunderland 1
Rodwell 30;
Man. United 1
Mata 17;
HT: 1-1. Att: 43,217.
Tottenham 4
Chadli 12, 37; Dier 30; Adebayor 65;
QPR 0
HT: 3-0. Att: 36,109.
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Tottenham | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
| Chelsea | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| Swansea | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| Arsenal | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Hull City | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Aston Villa | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Man. City | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| West Ham | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Liverpool | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Everton | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Sunderland | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| West Brom | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Man. United | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Southampton | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Stoke City | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Leicester | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| Newcastle | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| C. Palace | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Burnley | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| QPR | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Playing today: Man. City vs Liverpool - 21:00
Tomorrow: League Cup second round.
Wednesday: League Cup second round.
Saturday: 13.45 Burnley vs Man. United. 16.00 Man. City vs Stoke; Newcastle vs Crystal Palace; QPR vs Sunderland; Swansea vs West Brom; West Ham vs Southampton. 18.30 Everton vs Chelsea.
Sunday: 14.30 Aston Villa vs Hull City; Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool; 17.00 Leicester vs Arsenal.
• Rangers boss Ally McCoist stressed he had had no contact with Crystal Palace over their managerial post. McCoist claimed he did not know where reports linking him with Selhurst Park had come from.
“There has been no contact at all with Crystal Palace,” he said.
“As you can imagine, I have a serious amount of work to do here and anyone who knows me will appreciate it is important to see it through. It is flattering, and maybe Rangers’ story coming through the divisions catches the attention, but I’m desperately keen to get the job here completed.”