Anthony Gordon believes Sunderland are "not very good" compared to Newcastle United, which is why their 2-1 loss at the weekend was "not good enough".

Gordon opened the scoring at St. James' Park on Sunday, but Sunderland mounted a second-half comeback to turn the game around, thanks to goals from Chemsdine Talbi and Brian Brobbey.

It means Sunderland have done the double over Newcastle this season, having also gone down 1-0 in the reverse fixture.

Newcastle have failed to win any of their last 11 league games against Sunderland (D3 L8), failing to score multiple goals in any of those matches. It is now the outright longest winless run for either side in this fixture's history in the English Football League.

Despite that run, Gordon says Eddie Howe's side are the better team.

"The frustrating thing is, in my opinion, they're not a very good team compared to us. We shouldn't lose to them," Gordon told Newcastle's club media.

"Away is obviously more difficult because they have the fans, the atmosphere and a bit more pressure, but at home we should not lose that game.

"Not with the first half that we had, but again, we haven't been good enough starting second halves, and it's an ongoing problem.

"Not good enough, really, no excuses. We were good for 45 minutes, which has been the case too often this season – we actually knew going into the game and had been trying to work on it.

"Not good enough start to the second half, and they were the better team in the second half."

Sunderland moved above Newcastle and into 11th in the table with their victory on Sunday and have now picked up 19 points from losing positions, while Newcastle have dropped 22 when taking the lead.

In the top-flight this term, Sunderland have won one fewer game than Newcastle (11 to 12) but have been beaten fewer times than the Magpies (10 to 13).

Regis Le Bris' side have also scored fewer goals, netting 32 times compared to 44 for Howe's team, but having let in just 36, they have a better defensive record (Newcastle conceded 45).

During the game, Sven Botman was forced off with a head injury early in the second half after being caught with a high boot.

Newcastle confirmed on Monday that he has undergone successful surgery on a facial fracture after the incident.

"He is not expected to be sidelined for an extended period and hopes to be available again during the closing weeks of the season," the club said in a social media post.