Newcastle United have taken a playful swipe at fierce rivals Sunderland ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League showdown with Benfica at St James’ Park.

The Magpies will be eager to forget their Premier League frustrations and build on their impressive 4-0 victory over Union Saint-Gilloise in their previous European outing. However, Newcastle’s home form in the Champions League has been less than stellar — they’ve lost their last three fixtures at St James’ Park in the competition, with defeats to Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan, and Barcelona following their famous 4-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in October 2023.

Newcastle mock Sunderland in cheeky ‘Club 18-92’ video

As part of their ongoing Club 18-92 social media campaign, the club released another tongue-in-cheek video to welcome Benfica to Tyneside. The series, which parodies retro tourism adverts from the 1980s and 90s, has featured several first-team stars including Dan Burn, Bruno Guimarães, Sandro Tonali, and Joelinton.

In the latest instalment, Newcastle’s narrator proudly showcases some of the region’s “amazing bridges” — the Scotswood Bridge, Newburn Bridge, and the iconic Tyne Bridge — before the screen cuts to an image of Sunderland’s Monkwearmouth Railway Bridge. A record scratch follows, and the voiceover quips:

“No need to go across this one — there’s no Champions League over there.”

The word “shan” (Geordie slang for unfair or harsh) flashes up on screen, playfully rubbing in the fact that Sunderland have never featured in the Champions League or its predecessor, the European Cup. The Black Cats’ only taste of continental football came in the 1973/74 Cup Winners’ Cup, where they played just four matches.

Sunderland fans bite back

Naturally, Sunderland supporters were quick to respond on social media. One fan posted an image of the current Premier League table showing Newcastle languishing in 14th place with nine points from eight matches, while Sunderland sit seventh on 14 points.

Another joked:

“Forget bridges — we’re seven places above them! But aye, they’ve got the ‘bridge cup’ now.”

Newcastle, of course, still have the Carabao Cup and Champions League football to go alongside their newfound “bridge bragging rights.”

The two sides will renew their fierce rivalry on December 14 at the Stadium of Light — the first Tyne-Wear derby in the Premier League since 2016. Newcastle won the last meeting between the clubs 3-0 in the FA Cup in January 2024, but they haven’t claimed a league victory over Sunderland since August 2011.