Tottenham Hotspur lost ground on the Premier League leader when it was beaten 2-1 in a pulsating game at Stoke City and Martin O'Neill's reign as Sunderland manager began with a last-gasp win Sunday. Seb Larsson's stoppage-time free kick gave Sunderland a 2-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers and Stoke winger Matthew Etherington scored twice to sink 10-man Spurs at the Britannia Stadium. The win lifted Sunderland out of the relegation zone and up to 16th place with 14 points from 15 games. Blackburn remains second from bottom with 10 points, two behind Wigan Athletic and one above Bolton Wanderers. Spurs, who had won six league games in a row and not lost one since August, fell behind in the 13th minute when striker Peter Crouch set up fellow former Tottenham player Etherington for a powerful finish. Crouch had appeared to handle the ball in the build-up but Spurs could have nothing to complain about when Jon Walters flicked on Ryan Shotton's long throw and Etherington scooped in at the far post two minutes before the break. The visitors struck back in the 62nd minute when Stoke's Glenn Whelan tripped Luka Modric in the area and Emmanuel Adebayor converted the penalty. The result kept Tottenham in third place while Stoke moved up to eighth. Bayern pulls clear Bayern Munich went three points clear at the top of the German league Sunday after coming from behind as Germany star Mario Gomez struck twice in the 2-1 win at 10-man VfB Stuttgart. After Borussia Dortmund and Schalke had earlier drawn level with Bayern at the top, Munich took lead as Gomez claimed his 14th and 15th league goals of the season. The result leaves Dortmund second in the table and level on 34 points with third-placed Schalke. On Saturday, Borussia Moenchengladbach missed the chance to go top after a 1-0 defeat at Augsburg while Werder Bremen got back in the title race with a 4-1 win over Wolfsburg.
