Smoke grenades were thrown as hundreds of Sunderland football fans were escorted through Newcastle city centre ahead of the Tyne-Wear derby match.
The two sides were kept apart by a heavy police presence around St James’ Park.
Northumbria Police made three arrests as part of a pre-planned operation before the match and two for being drunk and disorderly at the ground.
A BBC reporter counted more than 10 empty canisters thrown by fans.
Ahead of the match, a coalition of Newcastle and Sunderland supporters had urged fans to make the match “a derby to be proud of”.
They said neither side wanted a repeat of the disorder outside the ground after the fixture last April, which led to dozens of arrests.
Initial plans for the match required Sunderland fans to travel to Newcastle on official transport only.
However, following a campaign by supporters this restriction was withdrawn.
One Newcastle fan, 45-year-old Barry Rogerson from Bedlington, was jailed for a year for punching a police horse during the disturbances on the day of last April’s game.
A joint statement by both sets of fans read: “Recent seasons have seen an unwelcome level of hatred and disorder around derby games.
“Genuine fans don’t want the authorities to have any excuse to cut ticket allocations or restrict travel in future seasons, we just want a game to remember.
“We can keep the passion, but lose the poison. Let’s make this a derby to be proud of.”
Northumbria Police said 1,000 officers were on duty outside the ground.
Sunderland went on to beat Newcastle 3-0.
