Wilson Isidor made amends for an earlier miss to score the only goal as Sunderland beat Fulham 1-0 at the Stadium of Light, securing the Black Cats' first Premier League victory of the season and ending a 17-year wait for a home league win over the Cottagers.
The 26-year-old striker, who had signed a contract extension with Sunderland until 2030 only days before, was introduced from the bench alongside Habib Diarra midway through the second half. Within minutes of coming on, Isidor somehow struck the post from close range after Enzo Le Fée picked him out with a first-time low ball across the box. Sunderland boss Régis Le Bris admitted he had leapt to celebrate prematurely, only to watch the effort cannon back off the woodwork. "It was such a good chance," he said. "It was such a shame."
Redemption arrived swiftly. Just minutes later, Diarra collected a long ball down the right flank and drove a low cross into the box. Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno rushed out in a desperate attempt to intervene, but Isidor got there first, firing home to break the deadlock with around 15 minutes remaining.
The victory was Sunderland's first over Fulham in six meetings, a run stretching back to December 2017, and lifted spirits after last weekend's late defeat at Ipswich. For Fulham and manager Álvaro Arbeloa, the result left them still searching for their first points of the campaign following an opening-day loss to Chelsea.
The contest itself was largely cagey, particularly during a first half in which both sides struggled to fashion clear opportunities. Sunderland's Trai Hume was denied an early sight of goal when he failed to connect with a cutback from Thomas Meunier following a Granit Xhaka pass. Fulham's best moments came through teenager Josh King, who twice found space in behind but could not make the most of it — first miscuing a tight-angle finish after being played through by Alex Iwobi, then being dispossessed by Sunderland centre-back Nordi Mukiele just before the interval.
Mukiele, restored to the Sunderland backline in place of Luke O'Nien, was a standout figure throughout, also making a crucial sliding intervention early in the second half to deny Gonzalo García a clear sight of goal after Sander Berge had threaded a dangerous pass through. Le Bris later praised the defender, saying: "I was really impressed with Nordi and I told him this. Nordi showed us today that he's a great player."
Sunderland grew more threatening after the restart without finding a cutting edge, with efforts from Nilson Angulo and Brian Brobbey both going astray before the introduction of Diarra and Isidor changed the game's complexion. Le Bris credited the substitutes' impact, noting: "Habib is so, so intense. He and Wilson changed our press, it was tactically the same just with 20-30% more energy. But the most important thing is, as we saw this afternoon, that the core of this group are very good."
Substitute Romaine Mundle almost added a second late on but shot straight at Leno after being played in behind by Xhaka.
Arbeloa was left to reflect on a disappointing afternoon for his side. "It wasn't our day for sure," he said. "We need to improve many things, for sure, especially the energy and the attitude. It was a tough game for us... If you want to come to Sunderland and play the way you want to, then you need the right mentality. We need to show more energy and fight for every ball."
Le Bris, meanwhile, struck a note of cautious satisfaction while hinting at further transfer business before the window closes. "We didn't create enough. Fulham were well organised but we had a good balance to manage the transitions," he said, adding that the club would look to strengthen further if suitable additions became available, while expressing full confidence in his existing squad.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football, The Independent, and Standard Football.