Ex-Sunderland, Celtic and Manchester United stars unite in tribute to Liam Miller

Liam Miller was remembered by ex-Sunderland stars today

The former Black Cats midfielder lost his battle with cancer aged 36 in February having been diagnosed in November 2017.

Miller is fondly remembered in the North East after spending three years at the Stadium of Light, where he developed a reputation for scoring late and vital goals.

A 90th minute winner against Derby County and a last-ditch equaliser in a local derby with Middlesbrough are particularly well-remembered by supporters and teammates alike.

And several of those former teammates took park in a tribute match in Cork today, where a team of Manchester United legends took on a combined Celtic and Republic of Ireland XI.

Ian Harte, Graham Kavanagh, Kevin Kilbane, Wes Brown and Andy Reid all took to the field, while former Sunderland managers Roy Keane and Martin O'Neill were in the respective dugouts.

Brown, who played alongside Miller at Manchester United, paid tribute to the late midfielder in the build-up to the game.

“Liam was a top man," he said, speaking to Manchester United's official website.

"When he first came to the club [Manchester United] everyone could quickly see that he was a great lad, he got on with all the boys tremendously and when you look at the players playing in this game for him, it shows the respect he earned."

“It’s so sad, what’s happened, but the lads have all come together and we all want to pay a great tribute to him.

"It needed to be done – there was no other option. It’s one of the saddest things you can think about but we’ve all got together and everyone is going to see the level of respect is that is due to him.”

Over 45,000 fans attended the game as they helped to raise money for Miller's family and local charities.

The charity fixture ended in a stalemate, as Dennis Irwin and Louis Saha put United 2-0 ahead before Robbie Keane and Colin Healy netted to level things up.