The Black Cats Stage Iconic Newcastle Group Snapshot In the Wake of Pivotal Derby Triumph.

New leadership and a vastly altered lineup – but the club at Sunderland had a long memory.

Nearly two years ago, after Newcastle's thumping 3-0 win at the Stadium of Light in an FA Cup tie, the Geordies marked the occasion with a full squad photograph on the pitch.

Now, the situation were reversed.

Nick Woltemade's unfortunate deflection proved decisive to give Sunderland a memorable win over their rivals in the return of the Premier League Tyne-Wear derby since 2016 – prompting the hosts to recreate Newcastle's iconic snapshot at full-time.

“Forever inventive, resourceful, flexible,” smiled Black Cats manager Regis le Bris when pressed about who proposed the idea.

Defender Dan Ballard, who scored an own goal in that previous encounter, was the only Sunderland player to start in both games.

He disclosed how he was eager to make amends for the loss, stating: “Words can't express it. It was heartbreaking for the players and for the fans. We felt we had let them down, so we're delighted with this win.”

“It prepared us more for today. We came in with greater talent in this team, strong personalities, we dug deep, fought really hard and I thought we deserved the win.”

‘Local clashes are must-wins, by any means necessary’

Sitting in seventh Sunderland are enjoying a superb return to the top flight post promotion via the play-offs last season.

The Black Cats have 26 points on the board in 16 games, their best return at this stage of a Premier League campaign since 2000-01.

They are undefeated in the league at the Stadium of Light, which had an feverish atmosphere for most of Sunday afternoon.

“In local rivalry matches, the result is everything, the performance secondary,” said captain Granit Xhaka. “This team merits greater recognition – where we are in the league is remarkable and we're working really hard.”

Sunderland are also unbeaten in their last 10 league games against Newcastle, their longest such run without defeat against the Magpies.

Newcastle's last league win over Sunderland was back in August 2011.

Manager Regis le Bris said he was “extremely pleased” with the outcome.

“It was a derby and we were expected [to win] of our fans,” he stated. “This win is well deserved, we were mature and the lads were incredible.”

“It's good for the local community, the club, the fans. We knew before it was a huge game, but we have to reset quickly as we have another hard game in Brighton in one week.”