Enzo Le Fée's Redemption: Sunderland's 1-1 Draw Against Brentford

Enzo Le Fée buried his penalty, then let the noise wash over him. Same end, same stadium, same player. Very different outcome.

Last season at the Gtech Community Stadium, the Sunderland midfielder tried a panenka and made a mess of it. This time, with eight minutes left and his side trailing Brentford, he went for power and precision. No tricks. No drama. Just redemption in a 1-1 draw that he refused to let slip away.

Sunderland dominate, VAR intervenes

Regis Le Bris’ side arrived with scars from that heavy defeat here in January, but they played the first half like a team intent on rewriting the script.

They were sharper, stronger, quicker to everything. After just eight minutes, they thought they had the lead. Dan Ballard swept a clever finish into the bottom corner, only for a lengthy, fraught VAR check to strip it away. Kevin Danso, making his debut, had strayed offside and was ruled to have blocked Caoimhin Kelleher’s line of sight.

The decision sucked the air out of the away end, but not out of Sunderland’s play.

Brentford’s evening worsened when captain Nathan Collins was forced off inside 20 minutes after a clash with Noah Sadiki. The hosts looked rattled. Moments later, Le Fée almost twisted the knife, crashing a fierce effort from 10 yards against the post with Kelleher beaten.

Sunderland kept coming. Thomas Meunier, surging forward from deep, lashed a first-time shot straight at substitute goalkeeper Jannik Schuster when he had time to pick his spot. It summed up the half: Sunderland on the front foot, Brentford clinging on.

Granit Xhaka bossed the midfield, snapping into tackles and recycling possession, while the runs in behind from Meunier and Nilson Angulo repeatedly unsettled a Brentford back line missing its leader. By the interval, Keith Andrews’ side were level more through fortune than control.

Andrews rolls the dice, Janelt delivers

Andrews knew it. Three changes at half-time told their own story. The effect was immediate.

The game flipped. Sunderland, so aggressive before the break, suddenly had no out-ball, no way to relieve the pressure. Brentford pushed higher, their passes crisper, their attacks more coherent.

Just before the hour, the pressure finally told.

Nordi Mukiele initially did well, adjusting to head away a dangerous cross. But his clearance dropped into no-man’s land. No Sunderland shirt followed up. Vitaly Janelt did. He strode onto the loose ball, 15 yards out, and met it cleanly, guiding a half-volley into the top corner. Robin Roefs had no chance.

The Gtech finally had something to roar. Sunderland, after all their earlier control, were behind.

Brentford smelled a second. Keane Lewis-Potter should have finished the job, only to mistime a volley, bouncing it into the turf and over the bar. Anthony then had the ball in the net, but the referee penalised him for taking it out of Roefs’ hands. A cheap way to waste a chance, and one that would haunt the hosts by full-time.

Late twist and Le Fée’s redemption

Sunderland, though shaken, still carried a threat. Kelleher had to get down sharply to his right to push away a Wilson Isidor free-kick, a reminder that the visitors were not done.

Then came the turning point in the 82nd minute.

Isidor drove into the box, Lewis-Potter with his hands on the substitute as he went down. The contact was there, but the penalty award felt generous to the home crowd. The decision stood. All eyes turned to Le Fée.

Same stadium. Same spot. Same player with the ball on the spot and the weight of a previous failure hanging over him.

This time he didn’t blink. He sent Kelleher the wrong way, tucking his penalty into the corner to haul Sunderland level and exorcise the memory of that botched panenka at the start of the year.

Brentford, who had dragged themselves back into the contest with Andrews’ bold half-time reshuffle, were left to stew on chances missed and a lead squandered. Sunderland walked away with a point, a performance that mixed control with resilience, and a midfielder who turned his most painful moment on this pitch into a personal turning point.

The next time Le Fée stands over a ball at the Gtech, who doubts him now?