Back
Ten minutes at the Stadium of Light turned this match on its head. Cole Palmer had a penalty appeal waved away at 0-0, and within minutes referee Jarred Gillett was pointing to the spot at the other end.
Palmer was left incensed by the first decision. The Premier League said the referee's call was checked and confirmed by VAR, with any contact coming outside the area. For Chelsea, that explanation did little to ease the frustration.
Then came the second moment. Brian Brobbey and Levi Colwill were locked in a grappling duel as the striker drove towards goal, and Gillett ruled that Colwill had pulled him down. Chelsea argued that Brobbey was holding Colwill's shirt, but VAR agreed with the referee and Colwill was booked.
Enzo Le Fée took the penalty in the 36th minute and sent Mike Penders the wrong way. It was the only goal of the afternoon, and Sunderland held on to it until the final whistle.
The win ended a long wait. It was Sunderland's first league victory since they beat Fulham 1-0 at home in the second round of the season. It lifts them off the bottom to 18th, with 8 points.
Relief is not safety, though. Sunderland are still inside the bottom three, just one point from escaping it. For Régis Le Bris, this buys breathing space, not a finish line.
Chelsea have bigger questions than one decision. They had around two-thirds of the ball and still failed to score, and the defeat drops them to fifth on 16 points, out of the top four. One pundit said Chelsea should feel hard done by over the Palmer call, but added that Sunderland had been the better side.
So was it a penalty for Sunderland, and should Chelsea have had one too? Tell us in the comments which call you would change, if any.