Enzo Le Fée converted a 36th-minute penalty after Brian Brobbey was fouled by Levi Colwill as Sunderland beat Chelsea 1-0 at the Stadium of Light on Sunday. Jules Ahoka had already replaced Granit Xhaka because of an injury after only four minutes.
Match facts
- Result: Sunderland 1-0 Chelsea (half-time 1-0)
- Competition: Premier League, Matchweek 10
- Venue: Stadium of Light, Sunderland
- Scorers: Sunderland - Le Fée 36' (pen)
- Red cards: None
- Next: Aston Villa v Sunderland and Chelsea v Leeds United, both Saturday 21 November
How the match unfolded
Play was stopped in the third minute because of an injury to Xhaka, and Ahoka replaced him a minute later, only to be booked for a bad foul on Moisés Caicedo in the 21st minute.
Sunderland went close twice through Brobbey. In the 15th minute Chemsdine Talbi crossed and Brobbey's right-footed shot from very close range missed to the left. After Morgan Rogers had headed wide to the right from Marco Palestra's cross in the 25th minute, Trai Hume headed the ball into Brobbey's path on a fast break and the striker, from a difficult angle on the left, shot just wide in the 28th.
The penalty arrived in the 33rd minute. Brobbey drew a foul from Colwill in the area, Colwill was shown a yellow card for a bad foul in the 35th, and Le Fée converted with a right-footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Chelsea had two efforts saved by Robin Roefs before half-time. Pedro Neto, set up by Cole Palmer, saw a right-footed shot from outside the box saved in the centre of the goal in the 45th minute, and in the sixth minute of added time Roefs saved Rogers' attempt from more than 40 yards on the right wing. The first half ended 1-0.
Xabi Alonso replaced Colwill with Estêvão at the interval, then sent on Danny Welbeck for Neto and Malo Gusto for Palestra in the 62nd minute. Chelsea went close from set pieces: Welbeck headed wide to the right from Pep Chavarría's cross in the 65th minute, and a minute later Wesley Fofana headed wide to the left from Gusto's delivery.
Wilson Isidor replaced Brobbey in the 67th minute. Roefs saved Gusto's right-footed shot from the right side of the box in the 74th minute, and two minutes later Caicedo was booked for a bad foul. Isidor then had a shot from the centre of the box saved by Mike Penders, headed wide from Le Fée's cross at a corner, and Talbi then shot wide from outside the area.
Geovany Quenda replaced Chavarría in the 79th minute and had a shot blocked two minutes later. Palmer's header from the centre of the box in the 85th minute was saved low to Roefs' right. Sunderland broke again in the 87th, Isidor releasing Talbi, whose shot from outside the box was close but missed to the right. Alonso sent on Emmanuel Emegha for Jordan Henderson, while Régis Le Bris replaced Talbi and Le Fée with Nilson Angulo and Chris Rigg.
Welbeck headed too high from Estêvão's set-piece cross in the second of five added minutes, and the second half ended in the seventh.
What the result means
The win takes Sunderland onto eight points from 10 matches and, at the time of writing, above bottom-placed Crystal Palace, who have seven points from 10. Manchester United have seven points from nine games, with a match still to play in this round.
Chelsea have 16 points from 10 games, level with Everton. Arsenal lead on 27 points from 10 matches, with Brighton on 22, Manchester City on 21 after losing 3-1 at Nottingham Forest, and Liverpool on 18. Matchweek 10 is not yet complete.
What happens next
Sunderland visit Aston Villa on Saturday 21 November (15:00 UK), while Chelsea host Leeds United the same afternoon (15:00 UK). Earlier in the weekend Leeds United beat Tottenham 1-0 and Arsenal beat Hull City 1-0. More from the round is in our Premier League section.
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