Sunderland drew 1-1 with West Brom, gaining their second Premier League point of the season.
After enduring late heartache last week against Crystal Palace, it was late euphoria this week for David Moyes.
Sunderland looked to be on the brink of another defeat, but an 83rd-minute strike from substitute Patrick van Aanholt grabbed the Black Cats a point.
With Moyes still without a Premier League win, here are five things we learned from their 1-1 draw against West Brom.
3-5-2 could get the best out of van Aanholt
An injury to Jan Kirchhoff saw Moyes change his side’s shape, shifting to a back three and deploying Van Aanholt and Javi Manquillo as wing backs.
The Spaniard was less successful as a right wing back, with his attacking limitations there for all to see, but the Dutchman appeared to thrive under his new role.
Van Aanholt is not the most competent defender but is good going forward, making him a very polarising figure on Wearside. A more attacking role could see Sunderland get the best out of their number three.
Wahbi Khazri should have been playing all season
The Tunisian came into the side in place of the injured Adnan Januzaj, and immediately offered more than the Belgian has done all season with his workrate and guile.
Khazri was one of the reasons Sunderland stayed up last year, and they will need him to recapture his form if they are to get out of trouble this term. The attacker was able to get closer to Jermain Defoe, which is something the Black Cats have lacked all season, and he should find top gear once he gets back to full match fitness.
Sunderland need a plan B
It is not massively clear what Sunderland’s game plan is, other than pray that Defoe gets a chance.
Today he got a chance but did not put it away, and Sunderland would have been pointless had it not been for a bursting run from Van Aanholt.
Defoe cannot be relied on every week, meaning Moyes is going to need a backup plan if his main man is misfiring. The lack of firepower in this Sunderland side could be their undoing.
That or their shaky defence…
Set pieces should be a priority
Speaking of other ways to get on the scoresheet, Sunderland need to put more focus on set pieces.
With the return to first-team action for Khazri, who is great crosser of a ball, the Black Cats could become a real threat from corners and free-kicks if they spend enough time on the training ground perfecting them.
They have big players like Lamine Kone who can be a threat in the air, and Sunderland need to use that threat and take a leaf out of Tony Pulis’ book, whose sides are famous for being clinical when it comes to set pieces.
Is it January yet?
It has only been a month since the transfer window closed, but Sunderland’s failures in the summer have already made the January window even more important, just like it was last season.
Even with the experienced John O’Shea at the back, the Sunderland defence looked like they had never met, causing their own problems, and this could be problem that just is not going to go away until they bring in some new defenders in January, because so far, the summer arrivals have not done the business.
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