Mike Penders says Chelsea must stick together and use the international break to reset after their narrow defeat at Sunderland.
The goalkeeper’s message comes in a new interview with Chelsea, reflecting on a match settled by Enzo Le Fee’s first-half penalty. Penders acknowledged the disappointment while arguing that the response should be collective rather than a loss of belief.
Penders calls for a united response
“It’s a matter of staying together,” he told the club. “I think we’ve had some good games, but after losing these games, we have to stick together.”
That is a different challenge from preparing for a single match. Chelsea now have time away from Premier League action before hosting Leeds on 21 November, and Penders wants the players to return with clear heads and renewed motivation.
He said the team’s structure was improving, while accepting that the result at the Stadium of Light was frustrating. His comments offer the goalkeeper’s view of where Chelsea can build, not a claim that the performance or the defeat should be dismissed.
Finding space proved difficult at Sunderland
Penders described a demanding first half in which control shifted quickly. After the break, he felt Chelsea had more possession as Sunderland dropped deeper, but finding clear openings remained difficult.
“We kept pushing, especially in the last 15 minutes,” he said, adding that Chelsea’s late pressure was not enough.
The club’s account also highlighted his second-half save to deny Wilson Isidor. That intervention kept the deficit at one, but Chelsea could not find the equaliser needed to change the result.
For Penders, the break is now a chance to maintain belief while working towards the next fixture. He wants the squad to take the positive parts of recent performances into their preparations without ignoring what went wrong at Sunderland.
The immediate message is about the response: stay together, reset and return ready to go again. It does not change the result, but it sets out how the goalkeeper wants Chelsea to approach the days before Leeds visit.
Read our earlier Chelsea team-news update for the Sunderland match.
What should Chelsea prioritise during the break?
Photo: Chelsea FC. Mike Penders at Sunderland on 8 November 2026.
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