Sunderland's Enzo Le Fée Redeems Himself with Late Penalty

Enzo Le Fée held his nerve this time. Same end, same stadium, same player walking up to the spot – but a very different outcome.

The Sunderland midfielder, who humiliated himself with a failed panenka at the Gtech Community Stadium last season, buried an 82nd-minute penalty to earn a 1-1 draw at Brentford and wipe away a lingering scar.

From dominance to danger

Regis Le Bris’ side had been bullied here back in January. Not this time. They came to west London and imposed themselves from the start, sharper in the duels, quicker to second balls, and far more threatening in the final third.

They thought they had the perfect reward after just eight minutes. Dan Ballard swept a composed finish into the bottom corner, only for a long, fractious VAR check to turn jubilation into anger. Kevin Danso, on debut, was judged to have strayed offside and obstructed Caoimhin Kelleher’s line of sight. Goal gone, momentum checked.

Sunderland didn’t sulk. They rattled the frame of the goal instead. Le Fée, buzzing around the edge of the box, cracked a fierce effort from 10 yards that beat Kelleher but not the post. Brentford were hanging on, more by accident than design.

Their evening worsened when captain Nathan Collins was forced off inside 20 minutes after a clash with Noah Sadiki. Deprived of their defensive leader, Brentford looked brittle. Thomas Meunier then lashed a first-time strike straight at substitute goalkeeper Jannik Schuster when he had time to pick his spot. It summed up Sunderland’s one flaw in a commanding first half: ruthless pressure, wasteful finishing.

Granit Xhaka bossed midfield, snapping into tackles and recycling possession with calm authority. The runs of Meunier and Nilson Angulo repeatedly tore at Brentford’s back line. The home side, passive and second best, could count themselves fortunate to reach the break at 0-0.

Andrews rolls the dice

Keith Andrews knew it. Three half-time changes underlined the extent of his concern and instantly changed the feel of the contest.

The game flipped. Where Sunderland had previously surged forward, they now found themselves trapped. Suddenly they had no out-ball, no way to breathe, no chance to get up the pitch. Brentford pushed higher, passed sharper and began to pin Le Bris’ team in their own half.

The pressure finally told just before the hour.

Nordi Mukiele initially did his job, adjusting well to clear a dangerous cross with a header. But the second phase was a mess. No Sunderland shirt followed in, no one reacted. Vitaly Janelt did. He strode onto the loose ball, 15 yards out, and crashed a half-volley into the top corner. Clinical. Deserved, given the swing in the game since the restart.

Brentford had chances to kill it. Keane Lewis-Potter should have done so, only to miscue a volley into the turf and over the bar. Anthony then had the ball in the net, but his opportunism crossed the line: he was penalised for taking the ball from the hands of goalkeeper Robin Roefs before scoring.

At 1-0, Sunderland were reeling, the earlier authority gone. Yet they were still alive.

Redemption from 12 yards

Le Bris turned to his bench and one of his substitutes, Wilson Isidor, dragged Sunderland back into it. With eight minutes left, Isidor went down in the box under the attention of Lewis-Potter, who had his hands on the forward. The contact was there; the penalty, to many eyes, was generous.

The decision stood. The ball went to Le Fée.

Memories of that botched panenka on this same pitch hovered over the moment. This time there was no flourish, no ego, just precision. Le Fée sent Kelleher the wrong way, drilled his spot-kick home and sprinted away, arms wide, a picture of catharsis.

Kelleher had earlier denied Isidor with a sharp stop from a free-kick, but he could do nothing about the penalty. Brentford’s three points slipped away; Sunderland’s resilience was rewarded.

The final whistle confirmed a point apiece. For Brentford, it felt like a gamble that had almost paid off, only to be undone late on. For Sunderland, it felt like something more: a statement that they will not fold easily this season – and a night when a midfielder finally rewrote his story on the very ground where it had gone so badly wrong.