Le Fée penalty lifts Sunderland off bottom as Chelsea lose 1–0

Sunderland moved off the bottom of the Premier League with a 1–0 victory over Chelsea at the Stadium of Light on Sunday, November 8. Enzo Le Fée scored the decisive penalty in the 36th minute. Sky Sports reported that the defeat also cost Chelsea their place in the top four, with Xabi Alonso’s side unable to turn the match around.

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The result gave Sunderland only their second league win of the campaign, according to K24 Digital, following their earlier success against Fulham on matchday two. Brian Brobbey won the penalty after a challenge by Levi Colwill inside the area. Le Fée converted, providing the breakthrough in a match that Sunderland went on to win without conceding.

The hosts had already suffered an early setback when captain Granit Xhaka went off injured after three minutes. Sky Sports reported that Chelsea also appealed for a first-half penalty after Cole Palmer went down near the edge of the box, but the incident was judged to have occurred outside the area. Morgan Rogers headed wide as the visitors searched for a response.

Alonso changed his attacking options as Chelsea tried to recover. K24 reported that Estêvão was introduced before Danny Welbeck replaced Pedro Neto around the hour mark. Brobbey, whose physical presence had caused problems for Chelsea’s defence, was also substituted during the second half. Sunderland continued to threaten despite protecting a narrow advantage rather than extending their lead.

Substitute Wilson Isidor had a chance to make the result more comfortable with 13 minutes remaining. According to K24’s account, a defensive mix-up allowed him an opportunity, but Mike Penders came out to make the save. Chelsea stayed within one goal, and Welbeck subsequently sent a header off target in added time as the visitors failed to rescue a point.

Afterwards, Alonso told Sky Sports that Chelsea had not produced enough once they fell behind and should have defended the penalty incident better. Sunderland manager Régis Le Bris praised the connection between his team and the supporters, as well as Brobbey’s contribution to an important home win.