Sunderland secured their best result since winning promotion yet with a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge
The hosts had taken an early lead through Alejandro Garnacho but Sunderland equalised later in the first half through Wilson Isidor. Having defended resolutely through the second half and limiting their opposition to very few clear chances, Sunderland snatched a famous win in stoppage time when Chemsdine Talbi scored from Brian Brobbey’s pass.
Maresca bemoaned his side’s defending for the second goal but conceded that they had not done enough over the course of the game.
"I think we were in general we were not good enough," Maresca said.
"When you are not good enough in the Premier League, you know the consequences. I've said already, when you are not able to win it is important that you do not lose. The second goal is not a transition, it's a long ball in behind where we have 2-v-1. We do not defend properly. The first goal comes from a throw in but it is difficult, they bring six or seven inside your six-yard box. Overall, we were not good enough.
"It can be an easy situation because it is 2-v-1 and the striker is facing his own goal, probably we are trying to manage the situation because it is 92,93 minutes because we have to do better. We struggled to create chances, a lack of creativity. We didn't create a lot, we lost some duels and second balls at 1-0 and against this team, we need to do better. When we arrive in certain areas of the pitch, we cross because we expect to have four or five players inside the box but today when we cross, probably the quality of the cross was not the best one.”
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What Régis Le Bris said about Sunderland’s win over Chelsea
The Sunderland head coach admitted his side were ‘on the edge’ in the opening exchanges but praised their resilience in getting over the line.
“It’s a good performance, especially after conceding the early goal,” Le Bris said.
“It wasn’t obvious that we would stay in the game, but after about 15 minutes we found the right balance. We had good quality on the ball with the extra body in there making four midfielders and we had the ability to defend high when it was possible. But then we could also set a deep block that was really strong, well-connected and hard to beat. That meant we could protect our goal and prevent Chelsea from getting through.”
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