Evanilson came off the bench to help Bournemouth extend their unbeaten run in the Premier League to eight games as they drew with Sunderland at Vitality Stadium.

Eliezer Mayenda opened the scoring for Sunderland in the 18th minute when he bundled in from close range after Djordje Petrovic parried Habib Diarra's fierce strike straight into the Spaniard's path.

Having watched his side miss several opportunities to equalise, Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola elected to bring on Evanilson for David Brooks at half-time.

The Brazilian injected some quality into the Cherries' attack that had been missing, and levelled in the 63rd minute.

The goal was followed by a lengthy Video Assistant Referee (VAR) check for handball, but replays showed Evanilson met Marcus Tavernier's superb cross with his shoulder and the goal was allowed to stand.

Sunderland thought they had netted an 81st-minute winner through Diarra, but their celebrations were cut short by the offside flag.

The result keeps Bournemouth's European hopes alive as they remain eighth, while Sunderland move up to 11th after ending a three-game losing streak.

Only Manchester United (10 games) are on a longer unbeaten run in the top flight than Bournemouth.

But the Cherries looked far from their in-form best in the first half on Saturday, spurning chances to score while struggling to contain the visitors.

Junior Kroupi skewed a strike well wide after latching on to a loose ball, while Alex Scott could not replicate Mayenda's effort when Robin Roefs palmed the ball straight to him.

There will be some debate over whether Sunderland should have been reduced to 10 men in the first half, with Iraola left furious on the touchline when he thought Roefs had unfairly denied Kroupi a goalscoring opportunity.

But Bournemouth themselves were perhaps fortunate not to see red when the VAR decided to stick with Jared Gillet's on-field decision to show Tyler Adams a yellow card only for his studs-up challenge on Granit Xhaka.

Regardless of those decisions - and their own slow start - Bournemouth will feel they should have fought back to steal all three points after a late flurry of chances.

In the reverse fixture in November, the Black Cats found themselves 2-0 down inside 15 minutes at the Stadium of Light before fighting back to win 3-2.

But Regis Le Bris' side got off to a brighter start on the south coast, with Noah Sadiki's low shot forcing a fine save by Petrovic, while they also had an early penalty appeal waved away by referee Gillett.

And after soaking up a period of pressure by Bournemouth, the visitors took the lead through Mayenda's first league goal since the opening day of the season.

Lutsharel Geertruida then stopped the hosts from finding a quick equaliser with a superb last-ditch slide tackle to stop Brooks from tapping in.

Diarra missed a golden chance to double Sunderland's lead after the restart when he found himself through on goal, but his strike was easily saved by Petrovic.

The Senegal international was ultimately left to rue the wasted opportunity, with Evanilson ensuring the Black Cats will head back to Wearside with just a point.

However, there are positives to take for Le Bris whose side snapped their losing run and moved back into the top half of the table, while captain Xhaka returned from injury to start for the first time since 17 January.

Bournemouth host fellow European contenders Brentford at Vitality Stadium on Tuesday (19:30 GMT kick-off), while Sunderland face Leeds at Elland Road at the same time.