'You could see how much Fulham respected Sunderland,' says Black Cats legend

Sunderland legend Kevin Phillips says it was clear Fulham ‘respected’ the quality of his former side in the FA Cup.

The Cottagers came out with a 3-2 win, but Sunderland gave a great account of themselves over both legs.

While Fulham boss Marco Silva made nine changes to his starting line-up, he used just about all of his top players from t he bench in the second half.

That, according to Phillips, was indicative of how worried the Premier League side were about the Black Cats‘ quality, especially in the attacking areas.

Asked whether Sunderland could be proud of their performance, Phillips told the BBC: “I think it's every performance that Sunderland have here. They send the supporters home generally happy.

"The fans can't moan about this evening, they've come up against a Premier League side. You could see the respect that Fulham showed making the substitutions at half-time, ultimately they were the difference.

"Sunderland were excellent, they created opportunities and they got themselves back in the game. The biggest thing is, you see them laying on the ground there on their knees because they believed they could get something out of the game.

"They gave it everything. They're having a cracking season, lots of positives to take from this evening. They've only been marginally beaten by a Premier League side.

"Jack Clarke stepped up, Patrick Roberts was excellent, [Amad] Diallo - you get the ball to those players and they will create opportunities. Diallo has one cleared off the line. He was running them ragged at this stage.

"The one he had cleared off the line, Fulham then go up the other end and score. It's a sucker punch.

"They had really good opportunities so can count themselves unlucky."

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