Enzo Le Fée scored a vital goal for Sunderland against Everton at the weekend.

Former Sunderland midfielder Lee Cattermole has hailed Enzo Le Fée as a “class act” after his goal against Everton at the weekend.

The Frenchman endured a rollercoaster week for Regis Le Bris’ men, starting with a moment to forget as his panenka penalty was comfortably saved by Caoimhin Kelleher during Wednesday night’s 3-0 defeat at the hands of Brentford.

Le Fée would bounce back in perfect fashion, however, sweeping home an exquisitely executed volley to open the scoring during his side’s FA Cup third round trip to Merseyside on Saturday lunchtime. To cap off an eye-catching performance, he then stepped up to hammer home the first spot kick in a decisive shootout victory over the Toffees.

And speaking on BBC Radio Newcastle’s Total Sport, Cattermole was full of praise for Le Fée, highlighting both his quality on the ball and his admirable work ethic out of possession.

What did Lee Cattermole say about Sunderland midfielder Enzo Le Fée?

When asked about Le Fée, Cattermole responded: “I think he's been outstanding. He's a class act - his technical ability, but also his off the ball [work]. He works so hard for the team, and the reaction doesn't surprise me at all.

“It was disappointing on the day [against Brentford] because they'd actually started the second half really well, and then to go and do a penalty like that away from home... I don't think he does that five, six games a go. So it's important to keep the feet on the ground and keep working hard.

“But the bounce back, like you say, in the game. He's someone who's shown that character. So, yeah, he's been a huge plus this season. It was an amazing finish [against Everton]. But that's the quality he's got, isn't it? He takes all the set pieces and there's a lot of good technicians in that team, and it shows how good he must be if he's at the front of the queue for all of that.”

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What did Sunderland midfielder Enzo Le Fée say after goal vs Everton?

Speaking after the final whistle, Le Fée admitted that his strike against Everton held added significance for him because of his penalty miss against Brentford earlier in the week.

He explained: “Even more for me. For me as well, because after the pain against Brentford, I received a lot of good messages on social media from them and even in the warm-up. So I received a lot of support, and it was important for me to react quickly because I think the pen wasn’t my value.”

The 25-year-old added that the miss in West London had not dented his confidence, nor changed his approach. He said: “I think they prefer one guy who shoots strong and misses than this, but this is the game. We play football to see some spectacle and to enjoy, so that’s why I tried. Today it was important for me to react, and I can say as well the pain was important for me. It was the perfect way to win because I scored and I had another pain to show them that if I want to score the pain, I can do it. So yeah, it’s perfect.”

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