Sunderland Secures First Win of the Season Against Fulham
Álvaro Arbeloa stood motionless at the final whistle, staring into the middle distance, while Régis Le Bris exhaled like a man who had just stepped back from a cliff edge. This was a game shaped less by ambition than by the fear of losing it, finally cracked open when two Sunderland substitutes, Habib Diarra and Wilson Isidor, stitched together the move that settled everything.
Isidor’s strike did more than deliver Sunderland’s first win of the season and leave Arbeloa’s Fulham without a point. It ripped up a 17-year wait for a Premier League victory over the London club, a long, stubborn statistic that had hung over Wearside like a cloud.
Sadiki sets the tone
The opening 45 minutes rarely threatened to turn into a classic. Sunderland saw plenty of the ball but carried little menace, their possession neat but blunt. The real authority came from Noah Sadiki in the middle of the pitch.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo international patrolled central midfield with a calm certainty, stepping in to smother attacks before they had a chance to flare. Every time Fulham tried to quicken the tempo, Sadiki appeared in the passing lane or at the end of a tackle, cutting off the supply.
Fulham’s only meaningful opportunity of the half arrived when Alex Iwobi threaded a clever pass to Josh King. Presented with a tight angle, King tried to improvise but ended up defeated by the geometry, skewing his effort. Robin Roefs barely had to dirty his gloves in the Sunderland goal.
At the other end, Bernd Leno was just as underworked. Sunderland’s dominance of the ball led nowhere sharp, their attacks too safe, too predictable. The crowd waited for a spark that never quite came, the match stuck in a slightly jittery stalemate.
From the directors’ box, Kyril-Louis Dreyfus had a clear view of why Le Bris wants a specialist right-winger and another striker before the transfer window shuts. The structure was there. The cutting edge was not.
Mukiele’s rescue and Fulham’s warning
If Sunderland lacked incision in attack, they at least had Nordi Mukiele back in the heart of their defence. Recently returned from injury, the former Paris Saint-Germain defender quickly reminded everyone why he matters so much on Wearside.
Early in the second half, Sander Berge split Sunderland open with a superb through ball, sending Gonzalo García racing clear. García, who had scored in each of his first two competitive games since arriving from Real Madrid, seemed poised to continue that run. Then Mukiele arrived, timing a sliding challenge to perfection and snuffing out what looked a near-certain goal.
It was a warning. Fulham were beginning to find pockets of space, García probing, the away side edging forward with a little more conviction. Arbeloa’s team started to look more confident in possession, and the rhythm of the game began to tilt.
Le Bris read it and acted. He rolled the dice with a double change, withdrawing the ineffective Nilson Angulo and Brian Brobbey and sending on Diarra and Isidor. The mood in the stadium shifted almost instantly.
Isidor’s miss… and redemption
The new arrivals wasted no time. Enzo Le Fée, increasingly influential between the lines, swept a gorgeous first-time ball across the face of goal. Isidor burst into the space, arriving right on cue.
It looked harder to miss than score. Yet somehow the forward clipped his finish against the base of the post. The ball cannoned away, the chance gone. On the touchline, Le Bris dropped to his knees, briefly overcome by disbelief.
Isidor’s expression said everything: horror, embarrassment, the weight of a moment apparently squandered. But the game had not finished with him.
Sunderland kept pushing, their tempo suddenly sharper, their passing braver. Fulham held an aggressive line, and that risk finally cost them. Diarra, already buzzing around midfield with intent, surged into space and whipped another superb ball across the box.
This time Isidor did not hesitate. He attacked the cross and lashed a high-velocity, precise shot beyond Leno, the ball flashing past the Fulham goalkeeper before he could set himself. One swing of the boot, and the miss against the post was instantly erased.
The stadium erupted. Isidor, moments earlier a picture of anguish, now sprinted away in release. Sunderland had the lead, and with it, the belief that had been missing for most of the afternoon.
Impact off the bench
Diarra and Isidor had transformed Sunderland’s performance, injecting urgency and purpose into a game that had drifted. They repeatedly exploited Fulham’s high defensive line, stretching Arbeloa’s team in ways that Angulo and Brobbey had not managed.
Diarra’s cameo, though, was cruelly brief. An injury forced him off, replaced by Chris Rigg, just as he was beginning to dominate the midfield skirmishes. By then, though, his imprint on the contest was secure.
Le Bris had turned to his bench under pressure and found the answers he needed. Arbeloa, left with hands on hips and a blank stare at full time, will know he has far more questions to solve.
