Sunderland Recreate Notorious Newcastle Squad Picture Following ‘Special’ Derby Win.

An altered coaching staff and an almost completely different team – but those involved at Sunderland wasn't going to forget.

Nearly two years ago, after a dominant Newcastle performance at the Stadium of Light in an FA Cup tie, the rivals commemorated the moment with a group photo on the pitch.

This time, the script were turned on their head.

Nick Woltemade's unfortunate deflection proved decisive to hand Sunderland a historic win over their rivals in the inaugural Premier League Tyne-Wear derby since 2016 – prompting the hosts to stage their own version of Newcastle's post-match snapshot at full-time.

“Always unpredictable, creative, adaptive,” remarked Black Cats manager Regis le Bris when pressed about who came up with the idea.

Defender Dan Ballard, who was unfortunate to score an own goal in that previous encounter, was the sole Sunderland player to be in the starting XI in each of the games.

He disclosed how he was eager to make amends for the loss, stating: “It's indescribable. It was agonizing for the players and for the fans. We felt we had failed them, so we're delighted with this win.”

“It served as motivation. We came in with more quality in this team, true characters, we stuck in there, fought really hard and I thought we deserved the win.”

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

Occupying seventh spot Sunderland are experiencing a excellent return to the top flight after promotion via the play-offs last season.

The Black Cats have 26 points on the board in 16 games, their highest total 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 electric atmosphere for most of Sunday afternoon.

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

Sunderland are also unbeaten in their last 10 league games against Newcastle, their best-ever streak without defeat against the Magpies.

Newcastle's last league win over Sunderland was over a decade ago.

Manager Regis le Bris said he was “delighted and satisfied” with the performance.

“It was a derby and we were carrying the hopes of our fans,” he stated. “This win is fully merited, we were mature and the lads were outstanding.”

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