Stoke City 1-1 Sunderland

Defoe's last-gasp penalty means he has now scored 14 Premier League goals for Sunderland this season - his second best tally after his 18 goals for Tottenham in 2009-10

Jermain Defoe's stoppage-time penalty rescued a dramatic point for Sunderland at Stoke, but Newcastle's win means the Black Cats drop into the bottom three.

Marko Arnautovic gave Stoke a controversial lead, firing home after Peter Crouch held off Black Cats defender Younes Kaboul inside the box.

Sunderland struggled to create chances in response, until Geoff Cameron tangled with Defoe in the 93rd minute.

Referee Craig Pawson pointed to the spot and Defoe stepped up to fire home.

Newcastle's win over Palace means Sunderland are now a point adrift of safety, although they have a game in hand over their north-east rivals.

Norwich, who lost to Arsenal in Saturday's late game, are a point further back in 19th and have also played a game less than the Magpies..

• Relive Sunderland's draw at Stoke

• Reaction to Saturday's Premier League matches

Defoe to the rescue again

Defoe, so often Sunderland's saviour this season, had endured a frustrating afternoon at Britannia Stadium but found the net again when it mattered.

The former England striker had already had seven shots at goal against Stoke but only two of them were on target and neither effort troubled Stoke keeper Jakob Haugaard.

He persevered until the end, however, and got his reward when he turned Cameron and was about to shoot when he was adjudged to have been fouled for his penalty.

Sunderland's penalty came after Geoff Cameron challenged Jermain Defoe

Stoke manager Mark Hughes described it as a "poor decision" but Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce said it was "a blatant penalty - he went straight through the back of Jermain because he knew he was through".

Defoe has now scored 10 goals in his last 11 away games, and 11 of his 14 league goals have come on the road.

His latest strike earned what Allardyce described as a "precious" point, but the Black Cats have still ended up deeper in relegation danger.

Sunderland have now lost only one of their last eight games, but they have drawn six of those matches.

Man of the match - Sunderland's Jermain Defoe

Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce was asked after the game where his side would be without their top scorer. "Probably relegated," was his reply. "The other lads haven't scored enough goals, Jermain has kept us close to being out of trouble"

Crouch makes his presence count

Crouch, Defoe's former strike partner at Tottenham and Portsmouth, had helped give Stoke the upper hand after being given only his third league start of the season.

The 35-year-old's aerial presence had caused Sunderland problems whenever Stoke put the ball into their box and played a big part in their goal.

"It was a blatant foul on Kaboul," Allardyce said.

Peter Crouch has not scored a Premier League goal this season - his last league goal came on the final day of the 2014-15 campaign - but he set up Stoke's goal with a header

Kaboul also felt he was impeded but after the game Crouch denied he had fouled the Black Cats defender as he nodded Charlie Adam's cross into the path of Arnautovic.

Stoke, who had shipped four goals in each of their last three games, had chances to make sure of victory but remain safely in mid-table despite missing out on the three points.

Potters boss Mark Hughes said: "Their penalty was a soft one and it was difficult to take, certainly we were the better team."

Defoe v Crouch - honours even

There were 10 unsuccessful efforts at goal by Defoe (L) and Peter Crouch (R) on Saturday

Defoe and Crouch both played a big part in their team's goals but Defoe's only efforts on target other than his penalty were both tame and from outside the box (green arrows in the left-hand graphic above).

Crouch's controversial assist set up Stoke's goal but he did not often trouble Black Cats keeper Jakob Haugaard directly. He had a shot from the edge of the area blocked (the yellow circle in the right-hand graphic) and only one of his two headers at goal brought a save.

What next?

Stoke travel to Selhurst Park next weekend to play Crystal Palace, while Sunderland's survival bid could well be decided at Stadium of Light - their next two matches, against Chelsea and Everton, are at home, before a final-day trip to Watford.

The stats you need to know

• Only Harry Kane (14) and Riyad Mahrez (12) have scored more away goals in the Premier League this season than Jermain Defoe (11).

• No Stoke player has scored more in a Premier League season than Arnautovic has this campaign (11).

• The Potters have now gone eight Premier League games without keeping a clean sheet thanks to Defoe's late equaliser.