The Black Cats Recreate Iconic Newcastle Squad Picture In the Wake of Crucial Local Rivalry Victory.

An altered coaching staff and an almost completely different team – but those involved at Sunderland remembered vividly.

Back in 2024, after a dominant Newcastle performance at the Stadium of Light in an FA Cup tie, the rivals marked the occasion with a group photo on the pitch.

Now, the roles were reversed.

Nick Woltemade's own goal proved decisive to hand Sunderland a memorable win over their rivals in the first Premier League Tyne-Wear derby since 2016 – prompting the hosts to recreate Newcastle's post-match snapshot at full-time.

“Always unpredictable, creative, adaptive,” said with a grin Black Cats manager Regis le Bris when asked about who came up with the photograph.

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

He revealed how he was determined to rectify the loss, stating: “Words can't express it. It was agonizing for the players and for the fans. We felt we had disappointed them, so we're overjoyed with this win.”

“That experience hardened us. We came in with greater talent in this team, real leaders, we stuck in there, fought really hard and I thought we deserved the win.”

‘Rivalry games demand victory, regardless of the performance’

Sitting in seventh Sunderland are experiencing a excellent 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 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 feverish 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 remarkable and we're working really hard.”

Sunderland are also without a loss in their last 10 league games against Newcastle, their most extended period without defeat against the Magpies.

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

Manager Regis le Bris said he was “proud and happy” with the outcome.

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

“It's good 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 hard game in Brighton in one week.”