At the final whistle Álvaro Arbeloa provided a study in pensiveness while Régis Le Bris simply looked relieved. For protracted periods an almost palpable fear of losing formed the subtext of a match decided when two of the Sunderland manager’s ­second-half substitutes, Habib Diarra and Wilson Isidor, combined for the latter to score.

Isidor’s goal not merely supplied Sunderland with their first win of the season while leaving Arbeloa’s side pointless, but also ended his side’s 17‑year run without a Premier League home victory against Fulham.

Operating at only half its capacity, Japanese carmaker’s Sunderland factory seeks deal with China’s Chery as it battles Brexit threats

In a factory in Gateshead, engineers carefully wind metal wires around iron cores to go in electric motors. Here, workers produce a smaller “pancake motor”, which generates higher torque than conventional versions for supercars or construction equipment.

These workers form part of north-east England’s automotive industry, which has experienced a long line of political disruptions, from Margaret Thatcher’s efforts to attract international investment, through Brexit and now Andy Burnham’s reindustrialisation strategy.