Manchester United vs. Sunderland: Score, Reaction from 2016 Premier League Match

Manchester United ran its Premier League winning streak to four following Monday's 3-1 victory over Sunderland.  

After Paul Pogba missed out on a few open scoring chances early in the first half, Daley Blind got the Red Devils on the board in the 39th minute by putting the ball past Jordan Pickford in the right corner of the net. 

NBC Sports Soccer offered the highlight of Blind's goal, which was helped out by an assist from Zlatan Ibrahimovic:

Blind's goal capped off an excellent first half for the 26-year-old in which he was an active force on both sides of the ball, per Squawka Football:

This was one of Blind's most complete performances of the season. He hadn't scored a goal in the previous 12 matches, only attempting three shots during that span, and his two assists came way back on September 24 against Leicester.

Playing primarily as a defender doesn't afford Blind a lot of chances to impact things on offense, but he found a way to take advantage on Boxing Day. 

Ibrahimovic also got off the schneid with his assist. It's the first assist for the star striker since November against Feyenoord in a Europa League matchup and first in his last 21 league games, per OptaJoe.

That wouldn't be Ibrahimovic's only moment of the match. He went back to doing what he does best, scoring his 12th goal of the season in the 82nd minute. 

Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News tied Ibrahimovic's brilliance into the run Michael Owen had with Manchester United from 2009 to 2012:

As good as Blind and Ibrahimovic looked, Pogba was a shining star without the numbers in the box score to back it up. The 23-year-old was a wizard with the ball, despite being unable to find the back of the net, with Stephen Howson of Full Time Devils offering this breakdown of a moment from the first half:

"

Pogba just played a one two to himself with Lingard that Lingard didn't know about 

— Stephen Howson (@MrStephenHowson) December 26, 2016"

Pogba also moved into third place in the EPL this season with his 957th completed pass, trailing only Liverpool's Jordan Henderson and Chelsea's N'Golo Kante in that category, per Squawka Football.

Pogba added to that pass total on Ibrahimovic's goal, hitting his teammate with a perfect setup as Ibrahimovic was streaking down the middle of the field before putting the ball into the right corner of the net.

Liam Canning of Yahoo Sports came to the defense of the oft-maligned Pogba after watching his performance on Monday:

Manchester United added a third insurance goal in the 86th minute courtesy of Henrikh Mkhitaryan on a fantastic header past Pickford, via NBCSN:

There was no doubt about the outcome by that point in the match, though Sunderland did not go quietly. Fabio Borini provided the Black Cats with their one significant highlight on a rebound goal that couldn't have been placed any better over the head of Manchester United goalie David De Gea.

It was a small consolation prize for Sunderland, though a huge moment for Borini to get his first goal since returning from a groin injury that kept him out of action for three months. 

The Sport Bible offered this response to seeing Borini's goal:

Sunderland was trying to build some momentum after a 1-0 victory against Watford last week but instead looked more like the team that dropped its previous two games against Chelsea and Swansea City by a combined score of 4-0. 

If Borini can get going and provide Sunderland with at least one consistent striker, there is hope for the team to salvage a respectable season heading into the new year. 

Manchester United's upward trajectory continued with a terrific effort on both sides of the ball. Pogba played like a superstar, while Ibrahimovic was a key factor in all of the Red Devils' offensive output. 

It's still a steep climb for Manchester United to have any hope of catching Chelsea atop the league table, but going unbeaten in nine straight matches has this team on the right track with 2017 on the horizon. 

Post-Game Reaction

Mkhitaryan's dazzling goal in the final minutes drew high praise from Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho.

"It's a pity it was the third goal of the game, not one that won the match because that would've been in Man United history," he said, per BBC Sport's Aimee Lewis. "He played for 25 minutes and played well, and he's doing great things."

Mourinho was also dishing out the praises to Pogba after the match, per SFR (h/t George Bellshaw of Metro.co.uk):

"

If the perception change, Paul can win it [the Ballon d’Or] because Paul is not a goal-scorer, Paul is a midfielder. That will score more and more goals. Because I think he has conditions to score goals. But Paul is a midfield player. In my opinion, the best. The best midfield player in the world.

Obviously young. Needs to improve. Wants to improve, which is even better. Has an agent who in my opinion is great for the player because he is not a typical agent who puts the player in the moon. He demands a lot from the player.

"

From the team's perspective, Mourinho was happy with how his team looked in the second half and where they are trending, per Lewis:

"

I know David (Moyes) and Sunderland deserved credit for what they did in the first half. Second half we had everything back - intensity, recover the ball high in the pitch, play fast passes and to have players like Anthony Martial and Henrikh Mkhitaryan on the bench helps.

These are three important points. Four matches, 12 points - that's what we need.

"

Moyes devised a scenario that he felt would've given his team a chance, only to see it fall apart.

"We hung in," Moyes said, per Lewis. "We sort of stifled them, stuck at it and said if we could hold it at 1-0, they might get nervous in the last 10 minutes, but we couldn't do it."