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Sunderland were left on the brink of relegation on Wednesday night, after a 1-0 defeat in the North East derby against Middlesbrough at The Riverside. David Moyes' team are now twelve points from safety, with just fifteen left to play for.
Middlesbrough are in a relegation battle of their own and had failed to win a single Premier League game in 2017 before this fixture. By beating their local rivals, Boro are now six points from safety and sit just one place above Sunderland in the table.
In a poor match, the nerves were evident from both sets of players. It was a single goal that separated the two teams, which came after just eight minutes, courtesy of Martin De Roon.
Sunderland could be relegated from the Premier League in the next round of fixtures, where victory against Bournemouth may not be enough to save them, depending on the results of the other teams around them.
Despite tonight's victory, Middlesbrough still face a tough task to remain in the Premier League. Their final four fixtures consist of Manchester City, Chelsea, Southampton and Liverpool, in which they need to defy the odds and take as many points as possible if they are to somehow avoid relegation.
Written by Matt Button
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