Sunderland completed a stunning season by going from promotion from the Championship to qualification for European football, finishing a remarkable seventh in their first season back in the Premier League under Régis Le Bris.
The Black Cats defeated Chelsea 2-1 at the Stadium of Light, with Trai Hume opening the scoring in the 25th minute before Malo Gusto’s own goal doubled the lead early in the second half.
Cole Palmer pulled one back for Chelsea on 56 minutes, but it was not enough, and Wesley Fofana’s red card on 62 minutes ended any hope of a Chelsea comeback.
Starting the day in 10th place, Sunderland jumped three places with the victory, knocking Chelsea out of the race for Europe in the process.
The Black Cats will compete in the Europa League next season their first taste of European competition since 1973-74, when they entered the Cup Winners’ Cup.
The result also means Sunderland finish above fierce north-east rivals Newcastle United, adding extra significance to an already extraordinary afternoon on Wearside.
Sunderland’s summer of change after regaining promotion had seen many earmark them for immediate relegation, but the Black Cats confounded all pre-season predictions.
Down in League One as recently as 2021-22, Le Bris’s side beat Sheffield United at Wembley in the Championship play-off final just a year ago.
The scale of the achievement is almost impossible to overstate from the third tier of English football to European competition in just four years, culminating in one of the most dramatic final-day stories the Premier League has ever seen.
