Sunderland secured their place in the English League Cup quarter-finals with a 3-2 victory over Brentford at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday, 28 October, after surviving a late fightback from the visitors.
The Black Cats built a commanding three-goal advantage through Chemsdine Talbi, Timur Tutierov and Malick Fofana before Brentford responded with strikes from Callum Wilson and Igor Thiago.
Despite reducing the deficit to one goal, Brentford could not find an equaliser, allowing Sunderland to progress from the round-of-16 tie and continue their campaign in the competition.
Talbi gave Sunderland the lead in the 26th minute, finishing from close range after an attacking move involving Jules Ahoka and Jocelin Ta Bi.
Ahoka began the move before Ta Bi unleashed a shot that Brentford goalkeeper Hákon Valdimarsson was unable to keep far enough away from danger. With the ball moving towards the goal, Talbi followed up and intervened on the goal line to ensure it crossed.
The goal put Sunderland ahead and rewarded their attacking pressure during the opening period.
Ta Bi then played a decisive role in extending the advantage, contributing to both of the home side’s subsequent goals.
In the 29th minute, the Ivorian winger supplied the assist for Tutierov to make it 2-0. Sunderland strengthened their position again 10 minutes later when Ta Bi picked out Fofana at the far post, where the forward headed home to establish a three-goal cushion.
At 3-0, Sunderland appeared firmly in control of the contest, but Brentford began their response before the interval.
Wilson pulled a goal back for the visitors in the 42nd minute, reducing Sunderland’s advantage and giving Brentford renewed hope of mounting a comeback.
The visitors continued to press and found the net again in added time at the end of the match, with Thiago scoring in the 90+4th minute to make the score 3-2.
That late goal set up a tense finish, with Brentford needing one more strike to draw level. However, they were unable to complete the recovery, and Sunderland held on to secure their quarter-final place.
For Talbi, the opening goal was another notable moment in his League Cup campaign. The Moroccan international has now scored twice in this season’s competition, having also found the net in Sunderland’s victory over Hull City in the previous round.
Talbi joined Sunderland from Club Brugge in the summer of 2025. His latest goal offers a positive contribution after a period in which his playing opportunities in the Premier League had been limited.
The match also highlighted Ta Bi’s influence in Sunderland’s attacking play. Having helped create the opening goal, he provided the passes that led to Tutierov and Fofana scoring, giving the home side a significant advantage before Brentford’s late response.
Ultimately, Sunderland’s three first-half goals proved enough to secure progress, even though the visitors made the closing stages far more competitive than the home side would have wanted.
Régis Le Bris’s team can now look ahead to the quarter-finals after negotiating a difficult finish to a tie that had appeared settled when Fofana scored Sunderland’s third goal in the 39th minute.
