Brobbey bullies Chelsea’s back line
Sunderland are off the bottom of the Premier League table, and they got there by out-fighting Chelsea. Enzo Le Fee converted a 36th-minute penalty at the Stadium of Light on Sunday, and that single goal decided a flat afternoon for Xabi Alonso’s side.
The spot-kick came from sheer strength. Brian Brobbey spent the first half shoving his way through Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill, wasted a couple of decent looks, then finally rolled Colwill inside the box and drew the foul. Le Fee kept his nerve. Colwill was taken off at half-time.
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Chelsea toothless at both ends
Chelsea’s midfield did not win a duel or a tackle in the opening 20 minutes, and the visitors barely threatened after that. Morgan Rogers nodded a Marco Palestra cross off target in the first half. The only real second-half chance fell to Danny Welbeck, who headed over from inside the box in stoppage time.
Cole Palmer thought he had a penalty on 24 minutes after going down under two challenges on the edge of the area. VAR checked it and ruled there was no foul, whether inside the box or not.
Sunderland lost captain Granit Xhaka to injury after three minutes and still looked the likelier side to score again. Substitute Wilson Isidor was clean through in the second half, but Mike Penders denied him with a sharp save.
What it means for the table
The win lifts Sunderland out of the relegation basement and takes some heat off manager Regis Le Bris. Chelsea slip out of the top four as the inconsistency under Alonso drags on.
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