Sunderland 1-0 Chelsea: Blues drop points as Le Fee's penalty lifts Black Cats off bottom of table

Chelsea put in a tepid performance as Sunderland lifted themselves off the bottom of the Premier League table with a 1-0 win that eases the pressure on under-fire manager Regis Le Bris.

Match Report 

Xabi Alonso's side were second-best throughout. None of their midfield attack won a duel or a tackle in the opening 20 minutes, while Sunderland's fight was best shown through Brian Brobbey's efforts up front.

The Dutch international smashed his way through Chelsea centre-backs Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill in a brutal first half - coming close to scoring twice, before eventually getting his rewards.

Ten minutes before half-time, he rolled past Colwill with immense strength to win a penalty, which Enzo Le Fee converted. Colwill was then taken off at half-time.

If Chelsea were weak in defence, they weren't much better in attack. They struggled to break down a Sunderland defence that has been leaking goals of late. Morgan Rogers went closest in the first half with an off-target header, while their only chance of note in the second half was Danny Welbeck's injury-time miss.

Chelsea had a penalty shout in the first half when the mostly-ineffective Cole Palmer burst through and went down under two Sunderland challenges right on the edge of the penalty area - but VAR controversially said there was no foul regardless of whether it was inside or outside the box.

Sunderland were still the better team throughout - despite losing captain Granit Xhaka after three minutes due to injury - and looked more likely to get a second goal than Chelsea were to getting an equaliser. Substitute Wilson Isidor nearly made it 2-0 when he was one-on-one but Mike Penders denied him in style.

The result moves Sunderland off the bottom of the table, while Chelsea have lost their place in the top four as their inconsistency continues.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

4' Under 4 minutes, Xhaka hurt, subbed off

13' Hume shoots in box, Chavarría blocks

15' Talabi cross from left, Brobby volley wide

23' Palmer down in box, no penalty given

25' Palestra cross, Rogers heads just wide

29' Brobbey turns Fofana, shoots wide from tight angle

36' Penalty Goal! Colwill gives away pen, Le Fée converts. Sunderland 1-0 Chelsea

Line-ups

Sunderland XI: Meunier, Xhaka, Mandava, Luke O'Nien, Mukiele, Enzo Le Fée, Brian Brobbey, Trai Hume, Robin Roefs, Noah Sadiki, Chemsdine Talbi

Subs: Danso, Wilson Isidor, Melker Ellborg, Malick Fofana, Nilson Angulo, Chris Rigg, Timur Tuterov, Dayann Méthalie, Jules Ahoka

Chelsea XI: Henderson, Pedro Neto, Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer, Wesley Fofana, Pep Chavarría, Caicedo, Colwill, Lavia, Marco Palestra, Mike Penders

Subs: Welbeck, Gusto, Emmanuel Emegha, Valentín Barco, Teddy Sharman-Lowe, Estêvão, Aarón Anselmino, Geovany Quenda, Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli