Sunderland returned to the Stadium of Light for the small matter of a Wear-Tyne Derby on Sunday — our first league meeting since Sunderland’s 1-1 draw at St James Park back in 2016.
In a game devoid of many moments of quality, how did Régis Le Bris revert to type in order to nullify Newcastle and grab the bragging rights heading into 2026?
Sunderland Lineup
Following defeat to Manchester City, Le Bris was left with decisions to make but during his Friday press conference, he confirmed that with the exception of Habib
Diarra — who remains a week away from action — he had a fully fit squad available for selection.
Despite having sustained success utilising a “five at the back” system this season, Le Bris made another bold move and opted to switch back to his traditional 4-3-3/4-4-2 system, which served us so well during the 2024/2025 campaign.
Having watched Newcastle struggle against a Bayer Leverkusen team who played with a back five during the week, as the teams were announced it took me by surprise — and showed Le Bris was willing to match Newcastle’s midfield man for man.
A change in shape saw two changes made as Trai Hume dropped out for the returning Reinildo. Up front, Brian Brobbey was given another chance to start after his impressive performance at Anfield one week prior.
Given the absence of Joelinton paired with the physicality of the Newcastle defenders, Brobbey was likely to come out on top in the duels and therefore Wilson Isidor was favoured against tiring legs.
Visitors’ Lineup
Following a midweek slog against Xhaka’s former employers, Eddie Howe was expected to at least make one change due to an injury sustained by Joelinton and therefore Lewis Miley came in to replace him.
Out wide, Anthony Elanga was named as a replacement for Harvey Barnes after his midweek struggles, with Aaron Ramsdale retaining his place in goal due to Nick Pope’s injury issues.
Eddie Howe set Newcastle up in very much the same way he’s been accustomed to for several years now, operating in a 4-3-3 both in and out of possession.
Howe relies on high pressing and overloading the wings to create high turnovers and chances in transition. Utilising his midfield trio, he aims to push his full backs into the final third, overload the wide areas and flash crosses along the face of goal for their central striker.
As Newcastle are a team that primarily look to exploit transitions — as do Sunderland — it remains important to the success of both teams that they trigger the opponent’s press to exploit their high lines and compact shape. Therefore, seeing Sunderland match up shape-wise must’ve made Howe rub his hands together prior to kick off.
A cagey affair early doors
As game got underway, Sunderland were handed possession and it was made fairly clear that the visitors were happy to invite pressure with the intention of hitting us in transition.
Clocking up a whopping 59% possession in the first half — over 15% higher than their average at 42.3% — it became a slow tempo game of cat and mouse, with both sides laying traps for the other to fall into.
For Newcastle, both wingers were ready to jump into the half space at the moment either Dan Ballard or Omar Alderete stepped into midfield — with the latter’s early nerves resulting in quick turnovers and half chances for Newcastle that thankfully didn’t lead to a shot.
From a Sunderland perspective, Noah Sadiki went man-for-man on Bruno Guimarães with Granit Xhaka laterally pressing onto Sandro Tonali whilst the ball was on the floor, before doubling up on second contacts with Nick Woltemade whenever the ball was airborne.
For context, in the first half, both sides combined for forty nine duels won — Sunderland winning twenty four at 49% success whilst Newcastle won twenty five at 51%, showing just how many individual battles were taking place in order to establish control.
Whilst Sunderland retained the ball, both sides defended overly cautiously to prevent the other from exploiting transitional spaces, and so chance creation from open-play build up was sparse.
With only four shots taken in the whole first half, both teams combined for a total of 0.26 xG, with Sunderland producing the only chance of note via a Ballard header.
Woltemade’s moment of goalscoring madness!
In a game where both sides looked set on not giving anything away through their defensive shape, the only way we were going to see a goal was through a set piece or moment of individual genius.
Given Sunderland’s dominance from attacking set pieces, Newcastle were looking to moments of individual quality to see them through this one and less than one hundred seconds into the second half, they got it.
Following a long throw from Nordi Mukiele, the ball was recycled by Xhaka and despite a reluctance to cross in the first half, Mukiele didn’t hesitate and whipped a teasing ball onto the head of Nick Woltemade — with towering German inadvertently powering a bullet header off the crossbar and sending the stadium into raptures.
Although unlucky for Newcastle, we’d been hesitant to cross during the first half despite being given numerous opportunities due to the positioning of the German forward in relation to the attacking runners.
The second half saw Sunderland take the initiative and gamble by applying concerted pressure on the Newcastle players which caused the moment of madness, it was nonetheless a moment of sweet release to savour.
Newcastle fashioned a similar moment when a deflected Reinildo cross just evaded the boot of Yoanne Wissa, but in a game of fine margins, sometimes one moment tips the balance.
Sunderland harness the energy of the occasion
One reservation of many neutrals running into this game was whether Sunderland’s effectively new team of non-locals could channel the passion and understanding required to rise to the occasion, but it must be said that on the day, only one side looked up for the fight.
In defence, Reinildo was again outstanding, winning 6/8 duels, Ballard winning 4/7 aerial duels and Robin Roefs making some fantastic high claims — including a 17.9 yard claim in such nonchalant fashion.
In midfield, Enzo Le Fée had arguably his most industrious game, covering every blade of grass laterally in his press including a delicious Cruyff turn and nutmeg on Lewis Hall.
Xhaka and Sadiki combined for 9/10 duel wins — including a 100% success rate aerially against their midfield counterparts, with Brian Brobbey also causing havoc for the Newcastle backline.
Special note goes to Le Bris for his selection of Brobbey in this one, as without Joelinton there to protect his defenders, Brobbey was able to drop deeper and hold up the play magnificently against the weaker Newcastle players, displaying some great link up play and close control with balls being drilled into him from all angles whilst also drawing four fouls, the most of any player in the match.
Midfield matchups
By lining up in identical shapes, Sunderland were looking to fight fire with fire in their attempt to stifle Newcastle’s strongest assets in the centre of the pitch.
Both teams operate with a single pivot that looks to act as a deeper, orchestrating playmaker, while the other two act more industriously and combatively, fighting fires wherever they appear.
Sadiki was able to go man-for-man on Bruno Guimarães and jockey him at every possible turn, preventing the Newcastle captain from gaining a moment to breathe when in our final third. Likewise, Le Fée was able to track Lewis Miley wherever he roamed and utilised his smaller size to drop into pockets and link up the play with Brobbey and the two wingers.
Xhaka played a hybrid role and whilst he was zonally operating from a defensive standpoint, he would often press up high onto Tonali to make life uncomfortable for the midfielder, often finding himself as the midfielder furthest forward, leading the press when Newcastle retained possession during the second half.
Sunderland remain compact and connected
In all honesty, both teams could’ve played for another hour during that second half and neither would’ve scored again. Although Sunderland enjoyed a five-minute spell following the goal in which they flashed balls into the box, it wasn’t until the seventieth minute that Wilson Isidor managed to test Ramsdale again.
Le Bris instructed his side to drop into that compact 4-4-2 shape off the ball, encouraging Newcastle to launch crosses into the box with the safety of his central defenders and for Roefs to take the sting out of all danger.
Whilst they were happy to surrender possession, Newcastle rarely threatened and aside from the aforementioned deflected cross from Reinildo, they didn’t force Roefs into making any meaningful saves.
In true Le Bris fashion, Sunderland showed that once we establish a lead, we’re very industrious and difficult to break down. We also love defending and a perfectly executed reducer from Trai Hume in the closing stages showcased that beautifully — and it also helped that I got a fantastic view of it.
Looking ahead…
Although not the sexiest game in the world from a football purist’s point of view, it was gritty, scrappy and perfect throwback to what a derby game should be.
Sunderland’s AFCON-selected players will now head to Morocco with a weight off their shoulders and doubtless itching to rejoin the rest of the group in January, having left their teammates in a fantastic place to continue over the festive period.
With four points already taken from our “nightmarish” December, we turn to Brighton and Leeds as we look to end 2025 on a high.
