 Bent made his first appearance of the 2010 – 11 season in the opening game, a 2 – 2 draw with Birmingham City on 14 August and opened the scoring with a penalty in the 24th minute. He scored the winning goal with stoppage time penalty as Sunderland beat Manchester City 1 – 0 on 29 August. Bent scored the equaliser during stoppage time to earn Sunderland a 1 – 1 draw against Arsenal on 18 September. He then scored twice in Sunderland's 2 – 2 draw at Liverpool.
