‘They were’… Michail Antonio was not happy about what Sunderland did during defeat to Newcastle

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Newcastle United breezed past Sunderland in the FA Cup last weekend, much to the disappointment of Michail Antonio.

The West Ham United forward was not necessarily hoping for a Sunderland win, but he at least wanted a bit more ferocity from the Black Cats in the first Tyne-Wear derby since 2016.

It was an incredible atmosphere inside the Stadium Of Light, but it ended up merely being a routine win for Newcastle United.

The Magpies were completely dominant, with Bruno Guimaraes running the show in the middle of the park. There were also brilliant performances from Miguel Almiron and Joelinton, as Newcastle coasted to a 3-0 victory.

There were not too many flashpoints in the game. Anthony Gordon was involved in an altercation with Trai Hume and offered him his shirt after, while there was a crunching tackle on Lewis Miley by Luke O’Nien that sent the Toon teenager flying.

But that was about it. There was not too much aggro, despite it being one of the biggest derbies in British football.

Michail Antonio says Sunderland were ‘way too nice’ against Newcastle

That disappointed Michail Antonio, who spoke about Sunderland’s lack of physicality on the latest episode of the Footballer’s Football Podcast. Newcastle United forward Callum Wilson chose not to agree, and instead focussed on what was a dominant performance from his teammates.

Antonio: “They were way too nice for you. I wanted someone getting smashed, getting kicks, they just – it was like they were so young they forgot the derby it should have been. I wanted old school, 90s football.”

Wilson: “I think sometimes they have a new manager, they are just settling into a new style of play, we played reasonably well and they didn’t have much of the ball. I think we were just dominant, it’s what you’d say. We were just the better team and we won. It’s one of them, we’re in different leagues, we have come a long way since they were in the Premier League and it being a derby. So I think we gave the fans what they wanted.” 

Newcastle dominated the derby

It was right for Wilson not to weigh in on the debate. Considering Newcastle have already mocked Sunderland quite a bit in the aftermath of the derby, it is best to steer clear of this one.

But it was surprising to see Sunderland fail to make Saturday’s game a fight. There was the odd meaty tackle, but they just could not lay a glove on Eddie Howe’s side.

Newcastle were too strong out of possession, and they were too good in possession. It was domination from Newcastle, who didn’t really give Sunderland the chance to turn it into the scrap it needed to be for them.

As Wilson says, Newcastle were the better team and they won. They got the job done, claiming bragging rights for the Toon Army – something they have not had since their previous derby win in 2011.