Passions continue to swirl around the goal scored by Darren Bent (pictured in the foreground) against Liverpool yesterday: the goal sure was controversial, but no less real. It earned Sunderland victory and Bent a whopping 30 rating points in the FTBL system, allowing him to break into the Top 23 of the English Premier League.

Bent’s 5tth minute shot struck a balloon thrown by Liverpool fans, disorienting goalkeeper José Reina.

Bent now has an overall FTBL Rating of 165.57 points and has captured a spot in the top tier of the FTBL ranking of Premier League strikers. He is also now less than 6 rating points behind the leader in the ranking of English strikers, Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney (171.23 points).