Sunderland left it late at the Stadium of Light in their opening day fixture against Charlton Athletic, but came away with all three points after snatching a late winner in a 2-1 victory over Addicks.

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Midfielder Lynden Gooch headed home a 96th minute winner to give Black Cats head coach Jack Ross his first victory on Wearside in front of more than 30,000 spectators.

With new players trying to impress the new manager in front of the new owners, it really was the perfect result and perfect start to Sunderland’s League One campaign.

Whilst there are things for Jack Ross to work and improve on, it will be a largely positive attitude coming away after Saturday’s result.

Nevertheless, here are three things we learnt about Sunderland after their 2-1 victory over Charlton.

Bali Mumba starting in midfield for the Black Cats against Charlton, in what was only his second appearance for Sunderland to date.

The 16-year-old, who made his debut for the club against Wolverhampton Wanderers on the final day of last season, had an impressive individual performance, with many Sunderland fans praising him to the greatest extent.

It is rare to see such a talent at such a young age, but Mumba, who has already represented England at Under-17 level, showed his worth and helped his side to victory.

Despite having a strong lineup, Sunderland had a number of key players missing from their squad and yet still came away from their opening day fixture with the victory.

With the likes of defensive duo Jack Baldwin and Tom Flanagan, midfielder Dylan McGeough and forward Charlie Wyke all out injured, it shows the depth to the squad that Jack Ross will have at his disposal.

A win is a win, but when you consider the players that didn’t feature for the Black Cats against Charlton, you do wonder how much better this side is capable of getting.

Whilst a head injury earlier in the match may have affected his game slightly, Jerome Sinclair had an opportunity to win the match in the final stages of the game, prior to Gooch’s late header.

Whilst the result eventually went the way of the Black Cats, the Watford loanee, who was substituted on just after half time before subsequently taken off just before the final whistle, squandered what seemed to be a relatively easy opportunity just five years from goal.

With the likes of Charlie Wyke also vying for the centre forward spot, Sinclair will need to step up is game if he wants to be Jack Ross’ starting striker this season.