The visiting side had hardly had time to adjust to their new shape before Long's strikestruck Williamson and deflected into the Toon goal with keeper Krul completely wrong-footed.
Sunderland cheers turned to relief when Florent Malouda struck the crossbar with a sweetly struckstrike but Anelka was not to be denied as he found the top corner with an angled drive to claim the Premier League's golden boot award with 19 goals.