Sunderland 2-1 Chelsea: Palmer goal, Fofana red card

⭐ Key Players

• Cole Palmer scored Chelsea's only goal in the 2-1 defeat, finishing from distance after Pedro Neto's pass.
• Wesley Fofana collected a second yellow and was sent off, leaving Chelsea short-handed.
• Malo Gusto turned into his own net for Sunderland's second goal, a decisive moment in the 2-1 result.
• Robert Sanchez made an early close-range save but was later beaten at his near post.

Sunderland set the tone early. Sanchez had to make a close-range stop, and Chelsea never settled after that warning. The opener followed when Sunderland found a way through at his near post, while Levi Colwill produced blocks, interceptions and a last-ditch challenge to deny Brian Brobbey before the breakthrough. Chelsea's clearest first-half opening ended with Joao Pedro heading wide.

There was little lasting improvement after the restart. Reece James replaced Jorrel Hato early in the second half, with Trevoh Chalobah, Liam Delap and Andrey Santos introduced later, but none changed the pattern. Chelsea did level when Palmer finished from distance after Pedro Neto's pass, only for Fofana's dismissal to leave the visitors exposed again before Gusto's own goal settled the contest.

The result and score made for a grim Chelsea summary, even if other results secured Europa League football. Sunderland looked the sharper side for most of the afternoon, and the highlights of the home win came from forcing errors in a defence that never looked comfortable. The result, score, highlights and summary all pointed the same way: Sunderland were in control more often, and Chelsea never looked fully in command.