Adam Johnson has continued his impressive form by handing Sunderland a 1-0 lead over Stoke City at half time.
Sunderland took firm control of the game from the first whistle and were rewarded for their dominant start when they opened the scoring in the 18th minute.
Fabio Borini, after being gifted too much space by the Stoke defence, saw a low shot fumbled by Asmir Begovic and Johnson quickly reacted to slot home.
Stoke responded well to falling behind but struggled to create many clear opportunities at the Stadium of Light.
The Potters could have been level before the break but Vito Mannone reacted impressively to keep out a Ryan Shawcross header at the back post.
