Sunderland claimed a hard-fought 1-0 win over Chelsea at the Stadium of Light earlier today, November 8, to end their Premier League winless run since August, while Brighton climbed to second place with a convincing win over Brentford.
Enzo Le Fee scored the only goal of the match in the 36th minute, converting a penalty after referee Jarred Gillett penalised Chelsea defender Levi Colwill for pulling Brian Brobbey down inside the box.
The decision sparked controversy as both players appeared to grapple with each other while Brobbey advanced towards goal. However, Le Fee made no mistake from the spot, sending goalkeeper Mike Penders the wrong way.
The win lifted Sunderland from 20th to 18th place, leaving them one point from safety. It was their second league win of the season and provided some relief for manager Regis Le Bris following their Europa League defeat to Dinamo Zagreb.
Chelsea, meanwhile, suffered their second defeat in three league matches and remained fifth, missing the opportunity to break into the top four.
At Selhurst Park, Liverpool defeated Crystal Palace 3-1 to move into fourth place.
Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring in the 40th minute with a header following a well-worked free-kick routine.
Florian Wirtz doubled Liverpool’s advantage 14 minutes into the second half after receiving a pass from Bradley Barcola, before Alexander Isak sealed the win with an 89th-minute finish.
Eddie Nketiah converted a stoppage-time penalty after Milos Kerkez fouled an opponent to score Palace’s consolation goal.
The defeat extended Palace’s losing run to four consecutive Premier League matches, leaving them with seven points from a possible 30 under head coach Pierre Sage.
Liverpool’s win moved them to fourth, nine points behind league leaders Arsenal.
Brighton also enjoyed an impressive afternoon at the Amex Stadium, defeating Brentford to climb above Manchester City into second place.
Diego Gomez opened the scoring in the 15th minute with a spectacular left-footed effort from outside the penalty area.
Brentford’s task became more difficult eight minutes later when Igor Thiago received a red card for violent conduct following a review of his challenge on Chema Andres.
Pascal Gross doubled Brighton’s lead from the penalty spot three minutes before half-time after Keane Lewis-Potter fouled Luka Vuskovic inside the area.
The win marked Brighton’s sixth win in seven Premier League matches, moving them above Manchester City, who drew with Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Brentford dropped to eighth after failing to register a shot on target and suffering their second league defeat of the campaign.
Elsewhere, Bournemouth continued their impressive form with a 2-1 win over Ipswich Town.
Evanilson gave Bournemouth an early lead in the fifth minute after capitalising on a goalkeeping error by Christian Walton, who lost possession while attempting to play out from the back.
Leif Davis inadvertently extended Bournemouth’s advantage with an own goal shortly after half-time following Ryan Christie’s effort.
Jack Clarke pulled one back for Ipswich from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute after Lewis Cook fouled Abdoul Ouattara.
However, Bournemouth held on to secure their fourth consecutive Premier League win and eighth win across all competitions.
The result lifted Marco Rose’s side to seventh place, while Ipswich remained 14th.
