Monday now.

And as thousands of hangovers receded across Wearside this morning, the question being asked in the musty minds of many will simply be: "was it really that good?"

And the simple answer is this: "Yes. Yes, it was."

The scoreline tells you the bottom line – that Sunderland beat one of the "big four" for the first time since 2002, that they recorded their fourth successive top-flight home win for the first time in a decade, that Sunderland's best ever start to a Premier League season continues.

But it fails to convey how engrossing this game was from first to last – from Darren Bent's trippy fifth-minute goal to Craig Gordon's superb double save in the second minute of SEVEN added minutes, you couldn't take your eyes off this match for a moment.

The game had everything and, for Sunderland fans, the most important thing of all: a happy ending.

So, where to begin? Maybe at the end.

For when referee Mike Jones, of which more later, finally blew the whistle on this absorbing contest, a marathon 100 minutes had elapsed since it first began.

And that amount of time tells you two things – that the result was no fluke and that not even Rafa Benitez could do a Sir Alex and complain about time not being added on; second-half injuries to Lee Cattermole and Kenwyne Jones having taken nowhere near that length of time to deal with.

The loss of that pair were just two of the setbacks Sunderland successfully overcame, for they also dealt with a half-time substitution which forced a reshuffle to three positions.

So, while Liverpool could rightly point to the fact that they were without world-class performers Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, with Javier Mascherano only fit enough for the bench; Sunderland also had problems of their own – and came through with flying colours.

There was a sense of anticipation around a full-house Stadium of Light even before a ball had been kicked – four home wins in a row in league and cup, a draw at Old Trafford which should have been a Sunderland victory and an under-strength Liverpool will do that to a crowd.

But what was stirring was that Steve Bruce's players went out and grabbed the game from the start rather than waiting for it to come to them; Sunderland all urgency, no complacency.

Michael Turner set the tone in the very first minute when he thundered through a loose ball near halfway to ensure Dirk Kuyt would not win possession.

And Sunderland bossed the game all the way up to their early goal when they swept upfield. Bent, Steed Malbranque and Andy Reid combined deftly before the Irishman crossed from the right and Bent, 15 yards out, powered home a low, right-foot shot at the far post.

There was controversy about the strike because a beach ball thrown by a Liverpool fan had drifted out of Pepe Reina's net and when Glen Johnson went to block the shot, the defender also struck the inflatable and the Liverpool keeper followed the wrong object as the ball flew past him in the opposite direction.

But it was doubtful whether Reina would have saved the shot regardless and, if the flight of the ball was diverted, close scrutiny of the replay showed it was by the shinpad of Johnson rather than the balloon itself.

All this though happened in the blink of an eye and put referee Jones in a difficult position. He consulted with his linesman before eventually making a decision which may arguably have been technically wrong but was morally right.

With the goal being allowed to stand, the game opened up in the minutes that followed and the visitors might have equalised in the 12th minute after a defensive mix-up between Turner and McCartney allowed Liverpool in, but both Johnson and Ryan Babel's shots were charged down and Bardsley hacked clear from just inside the six-yard box.

Liverpool continued to look for openings, Fabio Aurelio trying his luck from distance in the 14th minute; Babel driving a rising shot over Gordon's crossbar from the edge of the area soon after, but Sunderland looked pretty comfortable and the bubbling atmosphere reflected that.

In the 19th minute, the vast crowd were roaring their approval when Reid and Malbranque exchanged exquisite passes in a build-up which eventually saw Bent head Reid's cross from the left into Reina's gloves.

Liverpool's approach work was also good, but, throughout the game, their finishing failed to match it.

Aurelio whistled a free-kick narrowly wide in the 27th minute and a couple of minutes later Bardsley's tackle in his six-yard box had to be immaculately-timed to prevent another goal threat.

Sunderland, though, were very much in the game with Cattermole and Lorik Cana winning the midfield battles and Malbranque and Reid always looking to exploit the movement of Bent and the presence of Kenwyne Jones.

They nearly doubled their lead on the half-hour when Bardsley whipped in a quick right-wing cross and Bent got to the ball a fraction of a second before Reina but could not direct it on target.

Debutant midfielder Jay Spearing replied for Liverpool a minute later with a snapshot which drifted wide from range as the non-stop tempo was maintained until the break.

But when the two teams went in, few would argue that the scoreline was an accurate refection of the balance of play – the slender lead a fair reward for such a positive approach.

Sunderland had problems during the break – George McCartney, the only change from the team which did so well at Old Trafford, brought in to replace the suspended Kieran Richardson – was taken ill and had to be replaced.

Bruce's response was inventive, opting to draft the energy of young Jordan Henderson into midfield, which meant dropping Cana to central defence and shifting Anton Ferdinand out to left-back.

It was an unusual move, but it worked beautifully.

Henderson ran himself into the ground and twice threatened to extend Sunderland's lead, Ferdinand let no-one down in his new role and Cana caught everyone's eye, the captain leading from the front and flinging himself into challenge after challenge.

"One of the great individual performances of the season so far," manager Bruce said of his charismatic skipper.

It was imperative that Sunderland started the second half well and they did exactly that – Henderson driving in an early shot which was blocked only by Jamie Carragher's arm, although the defender's arms were down by his side.

Sunderland should have increased their lead in the 54th minute when an excellent Cattermole tackle sent Jones and Bent on their way.

Jones fed Bent ahead of the Liverpool defence and it looked as though the striker had rounded Reina, only for the keeper to reach up and claw away the attempted lob.

That was the inspirational Cattermole's last influence, for, in the 57th minute, he twisted his knee horribly and had to be stretchered off.

The ovation he received from all corners of the ground was spine-tingling stuff.

And the reception his replacement, Bolo Zenden, received was almost as notable – the Dutchman's signing last week being appreciated by fans as underlining the growing quality of Bruce's squad.

Zenden settled in seamlessly, full of fine touches and perceptive passes as Sunderland continued to match their illustrious opponents and go on to have comfortably the better chances in the remainder of the 90
minutes.

On the hour, quick-thinking Bent could have made it 2-0, sneaking in on a back-header from Martin Skrtel to get past Reina down the left, only to shoot against the post as two defenders blocked his path.

Jones injured an ankle in the 62nd minute and was stretchered off three minutes later, to be replaced by Fraizer Campbell, and the Wearsiders could easily have faltered after the loss of their targetman.

Instead, having taken pause for a couple of minutes and ridden out pressure, they could easily have extended their lead when Henderson broke upfield, only for Malbranque to dally a fraction too long when he was favourite to score.

Henderson himself then drove a shot narrowly wide and, as the game reached the final 10 minutes, the crowd were on the edge of their seats as Liverpool pressed, but Cana, Turner and Bardsley excelled.

No side has had more shots on target in the Premier League this season than Liverpool, but they barely forced a save out of Gordon during normal time.

The closest they came in the dying stages was a tame header from substitute Andriy Voronin which bobbled up into the keeper's gloves and a right-wing Johnson cross which Gordon had to tip over the bar.

Then came those astonishing seven minutes of stoppage time, though, and a breathless double save from Gordon – the keeper initially blocking Kuyt's goalbound grasscutter before getting up to deny substitute David Ngog's follow-up as fingernails were chewed in the stands.

The length of time added on was agony for Sunderland fans, but the successful completion only enhanced the heroic nature of the hosts' victory.

It was a famous victory, a landmark victory and a game of such positives for Sunderland that the feelgood factor on Wearside took its biggest leap forward since Bruce's arrival.

Supporters streamed away from the groung in utter elation, so much to talk about and a deserved win to celebrate.

Thousand poured straight into pubs and clubs to watch the live TV match which followed immediately afterwards and witnessed Championship Newcastle United losing at Nottingham Forest.

It doesn't get much better for Sunderland fans than a day like that!

And those trying to trace the sources of those hangovers need look no further.

Almost a year ago this week, I wrote about a sea-change in North East footballing fortunes after Sunderland beat Newcastle in the Wear-Tyne derby.

I spoke of Sunderland's rise, and Newcastle and Middlesbrough's decline, and was understandably mocked by some in the weeks afterwards as Roy Keane's side promptly imploded.

But I was right about Boro and the Mags and I was right, too, about Sunderland – though I had no idea that it would, ironically, take the arrival of a Geordie to really fulfil the Black Cats' promise.

What's uplifting, though, is that those Tyneside roots have proved no obstacle to Sunderland fans taking the ebullient Bruce to their hearts while Bruce, for his part, is absolutely loving his time on Wearside.

Who can blame him, with days like these?