A Cristhian Stuani double saw Middlesbrough emerge victorious from the first Tees-Wear derby in four years with a 2-1 win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
Starting the contest with a confident step, the visitors took the lead just 13 minutes in when a quick counter saw the Uruguayan rocket the ball past Vito Mannone from long-range.
The Black Cats were immediately put on the back foot and looked bemused in front of their home fans, watching on helplessly as a brilliant passing move saw Stuani left with a tap-in finish to extend the lead on the stroke of halftime.
Sunderland’s efforts after the break saw defender Patrick van Aanholt pounce on a loose ball to give the hosts some hope in the 71st minute, but it was not enough to halt Boro’s momentum since being promoted.
Here are some of the best reactions to come from Twitter after the game:
And the new….
Champions of the North East 😜 #UTB #Borolive #SUNMID pic.twitter.com/UvH0PNRVlx— MJ Fitz (@mjfitzmusic) August 21, 2016
@Boro absolute class result today totally buzzing #utb #boro #SUNMID #PremierLeague #canyouseeusuphearnewcastle
— Jamie Escritt (@Esky15) August 21, 2016
Get in there😃! What a win! Hard work in the end trying to hang on for the whole of second half but the lads did excellent! #SunMid #UTB 🔴⚪
— Sean Mack (@MackBoro) August 21, 2016
Great win for @Boro today!! We deserved that. @CristhianStuani and Forshaw were excellent today. #UTB #SUNMID
— Gareth McCarthy (@GarethMcC7) August 21, 2016
Anyone seen Defoe today?? #safc #SUNMID
— Chris Slater (@Chrisslater1) August 21, 2016
Great victory for Boro. 4 points from 2 games isn’t bad at all. Their strike force looks decent!! #SUNMID
— Jamie Smith (@_mrjamiesmith) August 21, 2016
Better 2nd half but shite 1st half performance left too much to do. Pienaar looked decent, McNair, Love & Watmore aren’t #PL players #SUNMID
— Jack Lambert (@jlambert55) August 21, 2016
@SunderlandAFC the only spirit is the bottle of whisky im going to chug to forget about the past hour. Club is rotten…… #SAFC #SUNMID
— Dan (@t3gg4) August 21, 2016
Middlesbrough will fare quite well this season. Karanka is a very good coach. #SUNMID
— Classic Man (@BonaQhama) August 21, 2016
#SUNMID David Moyes first game at Sunderland, sees them booed off. Another season, another fight against relegation beckons.
— peter brown (@peterrichardbro) August 21, 2016
Ahh back in the drop zone after two games #homesweethome #SAFC #SUNMID
— Mick Skehan (@mickskehan) August 21, 2016
David moyes #footballgenius #SUNMID pic.twitter.com/iYMT4HaeOC
— David Morgan (@DavidRMorgan) August 21, 2016
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