Le Fee Spider-Man celebration lifts Sunderland in Premier League comeback

Enzo Le Fee pulled on a Spider-Man mask after scoring at Hill Dickinson Stadium, but the bigger statement came in Sunderland’s season itself. The promoted club came from behind to beat Everton 3-1 before 52,590 fans in Liverpool on Sunday, May 17, and the result pushed Régis Le Bris’s side up to ninth place with Europe suddenly within reach.

Everton had led through Merlin Röhl’s deflected finish in the 43rd minute, a goal that seemed to settle the home crowd and put Sunderland under pressure before the break. Instead, Sunderland answered after halftime with Brian Brobbey’s equaliser in the 59th minute, then Le Fee struck in the 81st minute after a pass from Chris Rigg, finishing calmly before celebrating with the mask that made the moment travel far beyond Merseyside. Wilson Isidor sealed the comeback in stoppage time, turning Habib Diarra’s low cross into a 90+1 goal and leaving Everton’s players to walk off to frustration. Sky Sports named Le Fee player of the match.

The swing in the table matters as much as the celebration. Sunderland climbed to ninth and are now one point behind Brentford, who sit eighth heading into the final day. With Manchester City’s FA Cup success meaning European qualification goes down to eighth place in the Premier League, Sunderland’s home match against Chelsea has become a genuine decider rather than a decorative finale. What began as a feel-good promotion story now carries the sharper edge of continental ambition.

Sunderland’s own numbers underline how quickly the club has changed tone. The victory was its 2,000th league win, and the comeback also took the Black Cats to 22 points recovered from losing positions in the Premier League this season, the most in the division. Le Bris had made one change from the draw with Manchester United, bringing in Nilson Angulo for Chemsdine Talbi, and an early injury forced Omar Alderete off for Luke O’Nien, but Sunderland still found the control and finishing to flip the match.

For Everton, the defeat felt like a collapse at the wrong time. David Moyes said the side had “messed up big time today” and were “probably not quite ready” for Europe, while Everton’s run without a win stretched to six matches. Their 23 points in the first season at Hill Dickinson Stadium left them two behind what they managed in their final campaign at Goodison Park, a grim contrast to Sunderland’s surge and a reminder that late-season momentum can redraw a club’s horizon in a single afternoon.