Enzo Le Fée's first-half penalty stunned Chelsea as bottom side Sunderland won 1-0 at the Stadium of Light — their first league win since August.
Le Fée buried his spot kick in the 36th minute after Brian Brobbey was pulled down by Levi Colwill, and the Black Cats held on for a famous win that will be celebrated long into the international break. Sky Sports recorded Le Fée's 36th-minute penalty as the only goal of the game, and for Chelsea it was a bitter way to go into the break.
Brobbey wins it, Le Fée buries it
The penalty was won by Brobbey, who had been a menace all afternoon. The Sunderland striker muscled his way past Colwill and drove into the box, only to be pulled back by the Chelsea defender, and the referee pointed to the spot. VAR took a look, but the decision was never going to be overturned — Colwill was the guiltier party, and both players knew it.
Le Fée stepped up with the confidence of a man who had already scored three penalties this season, and he made it four. He sent Mike Penders the wrong way and buried the ball in the bottom left corner, and the Stadium of Light erupted. TNT Sports noted that Le Fée had already converted three spot kicks this season before this one — and from the spot, he simply does not miss.
Xhaka blow, then a backs-to-the-wall win
What makes the win even more remarkable is that Sunderland lost their captain inside three minutes. Granit Xhaka was forced off with a suspected calf injury after just three minutes, head in hands and straight down the tunnel, and for a side already bottom of the table it looked like the worst possible start. Our report on Xhaka's injury covered a blow that could keep the Swiss midfielder out for weeks — but his team-mates responded by producing their best result of the season.
Chelsea had their moments. Cole Palmer had a strong penalty shout waved away, and Wilson Isidor should have made it 2-0 when he was sent clean through in the 77th minute, only for Penders to block from close range. But the visitors never found the goal they needed, and Sunderland defended their lead with the kind of desperation that comes from a side that knows exactly what three points would mean.
Chelsea's title chase stalls
For Chelsea, this was a costly afternoon. They travelled to Wearside looking to close the gap on runaway leaders Arsenal, and instead they leave with nothing. Mike Penders started in goal with Emiliano Martínez still out, and while the young goalkeeper kept them in the game with his save from Isidor, the Blues never looked like finding an equaliser. Our confirmed line-ups had shown Penders keeping his place, and he did his part — but the attack in front of him could not do theirs.
The defeat will sting all the more because of the timing. Going into an international break on the back of a loss to the bottom side is the kind of result that lingers, and Chelsea's players will have two weeks to think about what went wrong on Wearside.
So what: a huge three points for the Black Cats
For Sunderland, this changes the mood around the whole season. They went into the game bottom of the table on five points, without a league win since August, and with their manager under pressure after the home fans booed the team off against Dinamo Zagreb in midweek. Régis Le Bris was already feeling the heat before this one — and a win over Chelsea, of all teams, is the perfect answer to the doubters.
The three points do not lift Sunderland off the bottom, but they change the story. A side that had forgotten how to win has now beaten one of the best teams in the league, and they did it after losing their captain in the opening minutes. That is the kind of result that can turn a season around — or at the very least, buy a manager and his players the belief they have been missing.
Beyond the Final Whistle: This was Sunderland's season in ninety minutes — a captain lost inside three minutes, a penalty won by sheer force of will, and then a backs-to-the-wall defensive stand that Chelsea could not break down. The Black Cats were supposed to be beaten before they started, and instead they produced the result of the weekend. Chelsea will call it a bad day at the office, but that does Sunderland a disservice: they earned this win, and they deserved it. Can Sunderland build on this after the break, or was this just one famous afternoon? Have your say in the comments.
