Sunderland vs Hull City; Carabao Cup Round 3
Sunderland vs Hull City. Carabao Cup Round 3.
Stadium of Light.
Sunderland 1-0 Hull City: Chemsdine Talbi's delightful dink enough to send dominant Black Cats through in Carabao Cup
Report and free match highlights from the Carabao Cup third-round tie between Sunderland and Hull at the Stadium of Light; Chemsdine Talbi's superb dink enough to see Black Cats into fourth round
Tuesday 8 September 2026 23:30, UK
Chemsdine Talbi's goal was the difference as Sunderland claimed a 1-0 win over Hull in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
A lacklustre meeting at the Stadium of Light between the two Premier League sides eventually saw Talbi's chipped finish put the Black Cats ahead 71 minutes in.
His effort was enough to book Sunderland's spot in the fourth round of the competition, which takes place at the end of October.
Regis Le Bris made 11 changes from the squad who drew with Brentford at the weekend, with Dayann Methalie and Jules Ahoka handed their debuts alongside a full debut for Malick Fofana, who came off the bench against the Bees.
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Sergej Jakirovic also shuffled his pack with eight switches from their goalless stalemate against Aston Villa, including full debuts for Mohamed-Ali Cho, Sorba Thomas and Robinio Vaz.
Dillon Phillips was called into action early to claw Jocelin Ta Bi's cross over the bar and the goalkeeper made a solid dive to push away Ahoka's header as Sunderland looked to strike early.
Hull had successive corners cleared as the half fizzled into a quiet affair, with both teams seeing the ball but struggling to test either goalkeeper.
Sunderland suddenly threatened when the ball reached Chris Rigg and the teenager played a pass into Jocelin, but the winger scuffed his shot wide.
Talbi raced into the box and forced Phillips into a low stop before Ahoka blazed an effort over from distance.
Just before the break, Vaz had a tame shot from a tight angle claimed by Melker Ellborg.
Sunderland went close after the restart when Wilson Isidor's looping header landed on the roof of the net and Rigg curled a free-kick wide.
Hull made a triple substitution in the 59th minute and soon tested Ellborg when Thomas' free-kick was parried away by the Sunderland goalkeeper.
However, the Black Cats eventually broke the deadlock with 19 minutes to play when they broke from a Hull corner.
Substitute Thomas Meunier flicked the ball to Talbi, who raced through the visiting defence before coolly chipping the ball over Phillips into the bottom corner.
Isidor skewed an effort wide as Sunderland looked to wrap up the win and substitute Timur Tutierov blasted over.
In a late surge, Hull searched for the equaliser when former Black Cat loanee Joe Gelhardt scuffed an effort over the bar from close range and Cho fired wide from a corner, but Sunderland saw the game out.
Le Bris full of praise for Talbi lob
Sunderland boss Regis Les Bris:
"It's really positive. We know this window can talk and we can have different conversations about the future. Now it's done, it's really clear.
"I was also interested by this new position because I feel Talbi can play off the left and play off the right. He showed in the past he can be a good winger but also just under the striker.
"He has this space and this ability to exploit big spaces.
"Even after 50 or 60 minutes he stayed composed to finish. He had this first chance just at the end of first half and the second one was fantastic.
"With 11 changes it's clear that it's not easy to find the references. We trained together but the reality is always the competition.
"The beginning of the second half was much better, we imposed our intensity and we scored, which was important. After that, the last part of the game they pushed a bit, but we stayed solid."
Jakirovic reflects on 'unfortunate' defeat to Sunderland
Hull boss Sergej Jakirovic:
"I think we played a 50-50 game today. We had some good actions, Sunderland also had some good actions.
"Maybe this goal we conceded we had to be better organised. Long ball, but great finishing in the end.
"Maybe we had the best chance in the game tonight through Gelhardt, so maybe we feel we can score that.
"Unfortunately we didn't and congratulations to Sunderland."
