Sunderland Recreate Iconic Newcastle Group Snapshot After Crucial Local Rivalry Win.

New leadership and a largely changed squad – but someone at Sunderland wasn't going to forget.

Almost 24 months prior, after a dominant Newcastle performance at the Stadium of Light in an FA Cup tie, the visitors marked the occasion with a full squad photograph on the pitch.

On this occasion, the situation were flipped.

Nick Woltemade's mistake proved decisive to deliver Sunderland a long-awaited win over their rivals in the return of the Premier League Tyne-Wear derby since 2016 – prompting the hosts to mimic Newcastle's iconic snapshot at full-time.

“Always unpredictable, creative, adaptive,” remarked Black Cats manager Regis le Bris when pressed about who proposed the photograph.

Defender Dan Ballard, who was unfortunate to score an own goal in that 2024 FA Cup tie, was the sole Sunderland player to be in the starting XI in both games.

He revealed how he desperately wanted to make amends for the loss, stating: “It's indescribable. It was agonizing for the players and for the fans. We felt we had let them down, so we're ecstatic with this win.”

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

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

Seventh-placed Sunderland are having a outstanding return to the top flight post promotion via the play-offs last season.

The Black Cats have a tally of 26 points 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 incredible 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 over a decade ago.

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 continued. “This win is rightfully earned, we were mature and the lads were outstanding.”

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