Isak Stars As Newcastle Beat Sunderland In FA Cup While Chelsea, Villa Win

Newcastle ended their 13-year wait to beat bitter rivals Sunderland as Alexander Isak's double inspired a 3-0 win in the FA Cup third round on Saturday. Chelsea joined Newcastle in the last 32 with a 4-0 rout of second tier Preston while Aston Villa snatched a late 1-0 win at Middlesbrough. In the first Tyne and Wear derby since 2016, Newcastle put Sunderland to the sword thanks to Dan Ballard's first-half own goal and Isak's brace after the break at the Stadium of Light. Newcastle had lost six of their previous seven clashes with Sunderland, but their composed display neutered the fired-up Black Cats and delivered a first derby success since a 1-0 victory in 2011.

After four successive defeats in all competitions, Newcastle coach Eddie Howe hoped the derby would be a "season-changing" moment to salve the wounds from their Champions League exit and poor Premier League form.

Whether vanquishing second-tier opponents will prove transformative remains to be seen, but for now local pride was all that mattered to the 6,000 Newcastle fans who waved their black and white scarves in delight at the final whistle.

"We handled the occasion well, were brave with the ball and were very composed. We didn't let the crowd take over," Howe said.

"Today will have done us the world of good. It keeps us in an important competition and that brings hope."

While the northeast rivalry might lack the glamour of the Manchester and north London derbies, there is no questioning the rivalry between clubs separated by just 14 miles.

Encapsulating the enmity was a bizarre incident this week when Sunderland were forced to apologise to furious fans after a stadium bar was redecorated with Newcastle colours in the corporate hospitality section of the