Le Fée's penalty gives Sunderland a 1-0 win over Chelsea
Referee Jarred Gillett
Sunderland beat Chelsea 1-0 at the Stadium of Light with Le Fée's penalty in the 36th minute, after losing their captain Xhaka to injury in the fourth. Chelsea had 68.7 per cent of the ball and 648 passes to 292, but Sunderland built 2.55 expected goals to Chelsea's 0.53.
- E. Le Fée 36' (pen)
The match in three moments
- 21'Sunderland
Ahoka booked
Ahoka, sent on for the injured Xhaka in the fourth minute, was booked in the 21st.
- 36'Sunderland
Le Fée scores the penalty
Le Fée scored from the penalty spot in the 36th minute, the only goal of the game.
- 90+4'Sunderland
Angulo booked
Angulo, on since the 88th minute, was booked in the 90+4, Sunderland's fifth booking of the game.
How the game unfolded
Jarred Gillett refereed a 14:00 UK kick-off at the Stadium of Light. Régis Le Bris's Sunderland lined up four-two-three-one: Roefs in goal; Meunier, Mukiele, O'Nien and Reinildo Mandava across the back; Xhaka and Sadiki in front of them; Hume, Le Fée and Talbi behind Brobbey. Xhaka started as captain. Xabi Alonso's Chelsea set up four-three-two-one, with Penders behind Palestra, W. Fofana, Colwill and Pep Chavarría, Caicedo, Lavia and J. Henderson in midfield, and Palmer and Rogers behind Pedro Neto. Caicedo captained Chelsea.
Xhaka went off injured in the fourth minute and Ahoka replaced him; Ahoka was booked in the 21st. Colwill was booked in the 35th minute, and Le Fée scored from the penalty spot in the 36th. Sunderland led 1-0 at half-time, and Alonso sent on Estêvão for Colwill at the break.
Meunier was booked in the 50th minute, Brobbey in the 53rd and Pedro Neto in the 55th. Alonso sent on Gusto for Palestra and Welbeck for Pedro Neto in the 62nd, and Le Bris replaced Brobbey with Isidor in the 67th. Caicedo was booked in the 76th. Geovany Quenda came on for Pep Chavarría in the 79th and Emegha for J. Henderson in the 87th. Le Bris sent on Angulo for Talbi and Rigg for Le Fée in the 88th. O'Nien was booked in the 90th, W. Fofana in the 90+2 and Angulo in the 90+4.
Chelsea had the house and Sunderland had the keys. Chelsea kept 68.7 per cent of the ball, played 648 passes to 292 at 89.2 per cent accuracy against 69.5 and sent in 23 crosses to nine. Yet they took 10 shots to Sunderland's nine, put four on target and had 0.53 expected goals. Sunderland, with 2.55 expected goals, made 23 tackles to 11 and 27 clearances to 17, and committed 17 fouls to Chelsea's eight. Sunderland were credited with four saves and Chelsea with one.
Before this game Sunderland's form guide listed defeats by Dinamo Zagreb (our report) and Coventry City (report), a League Cup win over Brentford (report) and draws with Leeds United (report) and Lech Poznań. Chelsea's guide listed wins over Manchester United (report), Everton and Bournemouth, a 1-1 with Liverpool in the League Cup (report) and a defeat by Tottenham Hotspur (report). Possession went one way and the chances the other, and on the expected goals Sunderland's win was no accident.
Match at a glance
Sunderland / Chelsea
Goals and cards, minute by minute
- 21'J. AhokaYellow card · Sunderland
- 35'L. ColwillYellow card · Chelsea
- 36'E. Le FéePenalty · Sunderland
- 50'T. MeunierYellow card · Sunderland
- 53'B. BrobbeyYellow card · Sunderland
- 55'Pedro NetoYellow card · Chelsea
- 76'M. CaicedoYellow card · Chelsea
- 90'L. O'NienYellow card · Sunderland
- 90+2'W. FofanaYellow card · Chelsea
- 90+4'N. AnguloYellow card · Sunderland
Match statistics
Sunderland / Chelsea
The basics
Expected goals
Attack
Passing
Defending
Goalkeeping
Physical
Line-ups
Sunderland 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Manager: Régis Le Bris
- 22 R. Roefs
- 12 T. Meunier Yellow card 50'
- 17 Reinildo Mandava
- 27 N. Sadiki
- 20 N. Mukiele
- 13 L. O'Nien Yellow card 90'
- 32 T. Hume
- 34 G. Xhaka (c) Off 4' for J. Ahoka
- 9 B. Brobbey Yellow card 53' Off 67' for W. Isidor
- 28 E. Le Fée Off 88' for C. Rigg
- 7 C. Talbi Off 88' for N. Angulo
Substitutes
- 29 J. Ahoka Yellow card 21' On 4' for G. Xhaka
- 10 N. Angulo Yellow card 90+4' On 88' for C. Talbi
- 4 K. Danso
- 31 M. Ellborg
- 39 M. Fofana
- 18 W. Isidor On 67' for B. Brobbey
- 6 D. Méthalie
- 11 C. Rigg On 88' for E. Le Fée
- 57 T. Tutierov
Chelsea 4 - 3 - 2 - 1
Manager: Xabi Alonso
- 39 M. Penders
- 2 M. Palestra Off 62' for M. Gusto
- 29 Pep Chavarría Off 79' for Geovany Quenda
- 45 R. Lavia
- 3 W. Fofana Yellow card 90+2'
- 6 L. Colwill Yellow card 35' Off 46' for Estêvão
- 14 J. Henderson Off 87' for E. Emegha
- 25 M. Caicedo (c) Yellow card 76'
- 7 Pedro Neto Yellow card 55' Off 62' for D. Welbeck
- 10 C. Palmer
- 17 M. Rogers
Substitutes
- 41 Estêvão On 46' for L. Colwill
- 30 A. Anselmino
- 4 V. Barco
- 22 E. Emegha On 87' for J. Henderson
- 27 M. Gusto On 62' for M. Palestra
- 32 M. Nicoll-Jazuli
- 28 T. Sharman-Lowe
- 18 D. Welbeck On 62' for Pedro Neto
- 23 Geovany Quenda On 79' for Pep Chavarría
Head to head
Three meetings are listed here, all in the Premier League: Chelsea 5-1 Sunderland on 21 May 2017, Chelsea 1-2 Sunderland on 25 October 2025 and Sunderland 2-1 Chelsea on 24 May 2026. That is two Sunderland wins and one Chelsea win in the listed meetings.
Listed meetings: 3, newest first
- Premier LeagueSunderland2-1ChelseaSunderland win
- Premier LeagueChelsea1-2SunderlandSunderland win
- Premier LeagueChelsea5-1SunderlandChelsea win
Sunderland
Last 5 games before this one
- LostDinamo ZagrebHome · UEFA Europa League0-2
- LostCoventry CityAway · Premier League1-3
- WonBrentfordHome · League Cup3-2
- DrewLeeds UnitedHome · Premier League0-0
- DrewLech PoznańAway · UEFA Europa League1-1
Chelsea
Last 5 games before this one
- WonManchester UnitedHome · Premier League2-0
- DrewLiverpoolAway · League Cup1-1
- LostTottenham HotspurHome · Premier League0-2
- WonEvertonAway · Premier League2-0
- WonBournemouthHome · Premier League5-1
Premier League table
In the Premier League table as it stood at 16:01 on 8 November, with this match included, Chelsea were fifth on 16 points from 10 games and Sunderland 18th on eight points from 10.
Standings as BBC showed them on 8 November 2026 at 16:01, with this match included. Top 6 and the two clubs in this match. P played · W won · D drawn · L lost · GF goals for · GA goals against · GD goal difference · Pts points.
| # | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 27 |
| 2 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 7 | 19 | 22 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 21 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 18 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 19 | 16 | 3 | 16 |
| 6 | Everton | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 16 |
| 18 | Sunderland | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 17 | -9 | 8 |
Where the figures come from
Scores, scorers, statistics, line-ups, head-to-head results and the table come from the BBC Sport match page, accessed . The analysis and wording are The Sports Guru's own.