Sunderland defeated Newcastle United 1-0 in the Tyne-Wear derby on Sunday afternoon.

Although the atmosphere pre-match and during the match was absolutely electric and set up for a potential classic derby match, the first half was incredibly underwhelming. The hosts, Sunderland, enjoyed plenty of possession, but they were playing a pretty one-dimensional game, mainly just crossing balls into the box. The opening 45 minutes of the match saw just four shots on goal, with none of them being on target, which left plenty to improve on for both sides in the second half.

The first half came to a close with the sides level at 0-0.

Following an uneventful first half, the deadlock was broken just a minute into the second. It was Sunderland who took the lead, and it came with plenty of luck, but they will not care one bit. Nordi Mukiele whipped a fantastic cross into the box, and it was met by Newcastle’s striker, Nick Woltemade, but the big German didn’t head it away, he headed it into the back of his own net to gift Sunderland the lead in the Tyne-Wear derby.

After Woltemade’s own goal, Newcastle pushed and pushed to find an equaliser, but Sunderland’s defence remained incredibly hard to break down, and Regis Le Bris’ men saw the match out to win the Tyne-Wear derby 1-0.

Match Highlights

To follow soon…

Sunderland Player Ratings

GK: Robin Roefs – 8/10

Had just a few routine saves to make, but he was dominant when it came to claiming crosses and balls which came into his box.

RB: Nordi Mukiele – 8/10 (Man of the Match)

One of Sunderland’s best creative threats due to his excellent crosses into the box. The Frenchman’s excellent cross in the 46th minute was met by Woltemade, who converted the ball into his own net.

CB: Daniel Ballard – 7.5/10

Didn’t really have that much defending to do as Newcastle were pretty underwhelming and predictable going forward. Ballard stayed organised and disciplined, which made Sunderland incredibly hard to break down.

CB: Omar Alderete – 7.5/10

Like his centre-back partner, Ballard, Alderte didn’t have much defending to do during the match as Newcastle didn’t really create much, but he also managed to stay organised and disciplined.

LB: Reinildo Mandava – 7.5/10

Completely nullified Elanga’s threat going forward. Mandava defended aggressively and also had some positive moments offensively, where he would drive forward with the ball and get his side up the pitch.

CM: Granit Xhaka – 7.5/10

The experienced midfielder put in a very well-rounded performance on derby day. Xhaka was not only very tidy in possession of the ball, but he also worked incredibly hard and was defensively disciplined and organised.

CM: Noah Sadiki – 8/10

Like one of his partners in the midfield, Xhaka, Sadiki also worked incredibly hard, but definitely had the brighter moments in possession. The Congolese international had some great moments where he broke Newcastle’s press and effortlessly got his side up the pitch and into attacking areas.

CM: Enzo Le Fee – 7/10

Didn’t see as much of the ball as his fellow midfielders, but when he got on it, he made things happen. Le Fee put some good crosses into the box and showed plenty of quality on the ball going forward.

RW: Bertrand Traore – 6/10

Tried to make things happen down the wing pretty much every time he got on the ball. Although Traore played positively, he didn’t really produce anything in the final third for his side.

ST: Brian Brobbey – 6/10

Given pretty much zero service in front of goal, but was a real nuisance for the Newcastle defence to deal with throughout the match due to his physicality and ability to hold the ball up well.

LW: Chemsdine Talbi – 7.5/10

Got the better of Livramento in one-on-one situations. Talbi looked to make things happen every time he picked the ball up and showcased plenty of skill in the dribbling department.

SUB: Wilson Isidor – N/A

Didn’t do much after coming on.

SUB: Trai Hume – N/A

Didn’t do much after coming on.

SUB: Romaine Mundle – N/A

Didn’t do much after coming on.

Newcastle United Player Ratings

GK: Aaron Ramsdale – 6/10

Produced a decent save in the second half to deny Isidor. Outside of that, Ramsdale hardly had a thing to do, and he couldn’t have really done anything to stop Woltemade’s own goal either.

RB: Valentino Livramento – 5.5/10

Had a tough afternoon defending against an energetic and skilful winger in Talbi. Livramento saw quite a lot of the ball down the right flank, but never really made anything happen aside from putting in a few decent crosses.

CB: Malick Thiaw – 7.5/10

Excellent and pretty much flawless playing the ball out from the back. For the most part, Thiaw was also very good defensively, although Brobbey was quite hard for him to deal with at times.

CB: Daniel Burn – 6.5/10

Forced off in the first half after suffering a suspected rib injury following a clash with Mukiele. The big defender was solid during his time on the pitch and made plenty of clearances out of Newcastle’s penalty area.

LB: Lewis Hall – 7/10

One of Newcastle’s most positive players going forward. The left-back had some sloppy moments in possession, but put some great crosses into the box. Defensively, Hall wasn’t that great, but he also didn’t make any terrible mistakes.

CM: Sandro Tonali – 6/10

Played with plenty of energy and fight, but tired as the match went on, which led to him becoming quite easy for the Sunderland midfield to play against.

CM: Lewis Miley – 6/10

Worked hard and battled well in the midfield, but in possession of the ball, he didn’t really do much.

CM: Bruno Guimaraes – 7/10

Tried his best to get on the ball and make things happen, but just couldn’t find a pass or cross that beat the dominant defence of Sunderland.

RW: Anthony Elanga – 5/10

Tried his best to threaten with his pace and energy, but was pretty much completely nullified. The Swedish international provided no service to Woltemade and had next to no success against Mandava.

ST: Nick Woltemade – 3/10

A disastrous performance from the big German. Woltemade’s own goal gifted Sunderland the three points in the Tyne-Wear derby, and he never threatened at all going forward, either.

LW: Anthony Gordon – 5/10

Worked hard and battled well at times, but showed no real quality with the ball at his feet. Gordon was full of running but was dealt with quite easily in one-on-one situations by Mukiele.

SUB: Fabian Schar – 6.5/10

Replaced Burn pretty well and never really put a foot wrong defensively.

SUB: Harvey Barnes – N/A

Came on and played with energy, but couldn’t break through Sunderland’s defence.

SUB: Jacob Murphy – N/A

Came on and played with energy, but couldn’t break through Sunderland’s defence.

SUB: Joseph Willock – N/A

Came on and played with energy, but couldn’t break through Sunderland’s defence.​​​​​​​

SUB: Yoane Wissa – N/A

Didn’t do much after coming on.