Sunderland Mimic Iconic Newcastle Team Photo In the Wake of Crucial Local Rivalry Victory.

An altered coaching staff and a vastly altered lineup – but those involved at Sunderland had a long memory.

Nearly two years ago, after a dominant Newcastle performance at the Stadium of Light in an FA Cup tie, the visitors commemorated the moment with a full squad photograph on the pitch.

This time, the script were turned on their head.

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

“Always unpredictable, creative, adaptive,” smiled Black Cats manager Regis le Bris when asked about who came up with the gesture.

Defender Dan Ballard, who scored an own goal in that previous encounter, was the sole Sunderland player to feature from the beginning in both games.

He explained how he desperately wanted to rectify the loss, stating: “It's indescribable. 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 served as motivation. We came in with improved ability in this team, true characters, we dug deep, fought really hard and I thought we earned the win.”

‘Rivalry games demand victory, regardless of the performance’

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

The Black Cats have 26 points in 16 games, their highest total at this stage of a Premier League campaign since 2000-01.

They are still unbeaten 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 is worthy of more respect – 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 longest such run without defeat against the Magpies.

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

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

“It was a derby and we were expected [to win] of our fans,” he added. “This win is rightfully earned, we were mature and the lads were outstanding.”

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