Sunderland 1 Newcastle 0 and match ratings and comments on all Newcastle United players

We asked Mark Jankowski to give us his match ratings and player comments after Sunderland 1 Newcastle 0.

Ramsdale 6

Had one save to make and made it well.

He was also positive off his line and wasn’t worried by any Sunderland pressure.

Can’t give him anything higher because he didn’t have anything to do.

Livramento 6

Tino managed to spring in behind the Sunderland defence during a turgid first half but never managed to replicate that early danger.

I think there were some missed opportunities for Tino here today.

Thiaw 6

Kept Sunderland’s pitiful front line completely quiet and tried his best to thread balls through when he could.

At least showed some fight when required but it was too little too late.

Burn 6

Played well while he was on the field.

Was desperately unlucky to come off the wrong side of a 50/50 challenge.

Hoping there’s no long-term damage for the big man.

Hall 7

One of our best performances of day.

He was very assured on the ball and was defensively sound, especially after being peppered with long balls every time Sunderland had possession.

Bruno 7

Was singlehandedly trying to drag us through long spells of the game.

Unfortunately, he was limited to a couple of speculative efforts.

We can’t rely on Bruno to do everything by himself each week.

Tonali 6

Broke up a couple of Sunderland counter attacks but wasn’t particularly involved in the game.

Not sure if he’s still struggling for fitness but seemed to run out of steam.

Miley 6

Coped well with the environment and looked good on the ball.

We need to see a little more intent round the box from the young man, similar to Wednesday.

Didn’t take enough opportunities to get into the Sunderland box.

Elanga 4

I was surprised when he got the start over Murphy today.

I thought Elanga was ok first half but as the game wore on his heavy touches crept up and he became a liability the longer he was on the pitch.

After some recent improvements in his performances this was a step back.

Woltemade 4

Failed to get involved in the game to any real degree.

The handful of times he was able to get on the ball he was uncharacteristically loose with his passing.

A day to forget for big Nick, especially after his OG gifted the Mackems all three points.

Gordon 5

Generally disappointing from AG today.

I did think he was starting to come into the game just as he was substituted but never had the chance to build on his signs of promise.

I think others will think he should be lower but in my opinion he was the best attacker we had today (which isn’t saying much).

Subs

Schar 7

Gets the club and the levels required.

Unfortunately, we don’t have enough players showing Schar’s levels of determination right now and it’s a problem.

Barnes 5

Got at his full-back a couple of times but his delivery left plenty to be desired.

He was trying to get into the final third but our play was too slow to make any use of his qualities.

Murphy 5

I would have started Murphy today but when he did come on, his final ball wasn’t good enough.

He was better on the ball than Elanga, which wasn’t too hard today, but we need more from our wide players right now.

Willock 5

Our performance picked up a little after Willock’s introduction but ultimately, he failed to create anything.

Showed a willingness to try and get forward but was outnumbered and outmuscled when he did.

Wissa 5

You wonder if a sharper Wissa would have got on the end of Murphy’s deflected cross in the final 15 minutes.

He didn’t contribute an awful lot today but we’ve got to get him into the starting line-up sooner rather than later.

Playing Woltemade in behind Wissa may be the way forward in unlocking teams that sit back.

Sunderland 1 Newcastle 0 – Sunday 14 December 2025 2pm

Match Stats

Goals:

Newcastle United:

Sunderland:

Woltemade OG 46

Possession was Newcastle 54% Sunderland 46%

Total shots were Newcastle 6 Sunderland 5

Shots on target were Newcastle 2 Sunderland 1

Corners were Newcastle 6 Sunderland 3

Touches in the opposition box Newcastle 14 Sunderland 14

Newcastle team v Sunderland:

Ramsdale, Livramento, Thiaw, Burn (Schar 42), Hall, Tonali (Willock 59), Miley, Bruno, Gordon (Barnes 59), Woltemade (Wissa 75), Elanga (Jacob Murphy 59)

Unused subs:

Ruddy, Joelinton, Alex Murphy, Ramsey