Sunderland won promotion back to the Championship in style in front of 46,000 strong members of the red and white army. The Black Cats support overwhelmed the travelling Wycombe contingent and it spurred them on in the opening stages of the game.
Sunderland had not won any of their previous play-off attempts and Wycombe were successful in their last Wembley outing with a 2-1 win over Oxford United back in 2020. The Wearsiders had ended their Wembley hoodoo that haunted their previous trips to the capital last season with a win in the Papa John's Trophy final, but that was in front of no fans.
The turnover of players in the summer meant that just two players - Lynden Gooch and Luke O'Nien - were in the starting line-ups on both occasions. Alex Neil made just one change from the win over Sheffield Wednesday with Elliot Embleton replacing Jack Clarke, and what a decision that was.
