Sunderland got their first Premier League victory since August, with Enzo le Fee’s penalty helping the hosts defeat Chelsea at the Stadium of Light.
From the spot in the 36th minute, Le Fee sent Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders the wrong way.
However, the decision to award Sunderland’s penalty was contentious, as referee Jarred Gillett ruled that Levi Colwill had pulled Brian Brobbey to the ground – even though both players were grappling with each other as Brobbey drove towards goal.
Sunderland’s win, only their second in the league this season but their sixth across all competitions, will relieve some pressure on manager Regis le Bris – though his team remain in the Premier League’s bottom three.
Chelsea, in contrast, lost their second league match in three and remained fifth, missing the chance to move into the top four.
Sunderland had been booed off by their own fans at full-time in their previous match – a 2-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League.
Last week, as pressure grew, club sources told BBC Sport that the Frenchman Le Bris would be granted more time to reverse his side’s form – after having guided Sunderland to an impressive seventh-place finish last season.
And the Black Cats delivered a strong performance on Sunday, securing their first league win since a 1-0 home victory over Fulham in the second game of the season.
That said, Le Bris will be worried about two of his key players – Granit Xhaka and Brobbey – limping off with muscle injuries.
Brobbey produced a particularly impressive display against Chelsea and nearly scored early on when he headed Chemsdine Talbi’s cross just wide.
Following Brobbey’s substitution in the 77th minute, Sunderland adopted a defence-first approach but were seldom threatened by their opponents.
The victory lifted them from 20th to 18th in the table, one point away from safety.
The Blues could not build on last week’s convincing 2-0 win over Manchester United, which had followed a poor loss to Tottenham seven days earlier.
The visitors are still without forward Joao Pedro due to a thigh injury, while Cole Palmer, who was left out of Thomas Tuchel’s latest England squad, and Morgan Rogers did not have their best games.
With the score goalless in the first half, Rogers had a free header in the area which he nodded just wide.
Palmer was also adamant his side should have been awarded a penalty in the 25th minute when Luke O’Nien brought him down on the edge of the area.
The referee initially waved play on, but the Video Assistant Referee reviewed the incident and determined there had been a foul by the Sunderland defender, though it occurred outside the penalty area before Palmer fell into the box.
Chelsea, who had 10 shots but created few clear-cut chances, sit two points off the top four after their defeat.
