Sunderland beat Chelsea with a late winner thanks to Chemsdine Talbi with the Black Cats moving up to second in the table
Regis Le Bris got his Sunderland gameplan spot on in the win over Chelsea.
Regis Le Bris got his Sunderland gameplan spot on in the win over Chelsea.
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Match of The Day pundits Ashley Williams and Michael Carrick were left raving about Sunderland's performance in their memorable win over Club World Cup winners Chelsea.
Regis Le Bris' men secured a memorable victory thanks to Chemsdine Talbi's stoppage-time strike, after Wilson Isidor had levelled Alejandro Garnacho's early opener.
Ex-Swansea City defender Ashley Williams praised the Black Cats but criticised Chelsea's midfield duo for lacking the hunger to track back and follow Sunderland's attacking runs in the dying moments.
"They [Sunderland] were very good today," Williams said on Match of The Day. "I think they had the right attitude, they weren't overawed. We can see from the stats here, forget that possession stat [68-32] they dominated without the ball.
"You can see at the bottom, duels won and aerial duels won, they went to Stamford Bridge and physically they were stronger and full of confidence. I think they dominated the game without the ball."
"This is in the first two minutes of the game, they're getting in the little gaps between Chelsea's defence and midfield. Isidor is a problem for Chelsea. This is what I like, the reaction, the press straight away, they're not sitting back and want to put pressure on Chelsea. They force an early mistake.
"Dan Ballard was outstanding throughout the match, confidently stepping into midfield and always eager for the ball. Cucurella, often positioned high and inside, left Traore unmarked. Ballard spotted him, but this time it led to nothing. It's clear that Sunderland approached the game with the right mindset.
"When Chelsea gain possession, they revert to a 5-4-1 formation, but it's far from passive. They hold their positions until the ball is played back, at which point they apply pressure and regain possession without hesitation.
"They have players making forward runs. Once again, note where Cucurella is - he's nowhere near Traore. He's keen to join the attack and Sunderland are brimming with confidence at this stage, full of energy, taking shots.
"Here, Chelsea aim to play through the centre because they have quality players in midfield. But Sunderland have players surrounding the ball, blocking passing lanes. They're aggressive in tackles and retain possession effectively.
"Granit Xhaka put in a stellar performance today. Keep an eye on him - despite being 33, he's full of energy, gets behind the defence, shows some skill and is unlucky not to score. Reinildo also excelled in dealing with the wingers.
"They regain possession right at the end. Geertruida steps in and plays a hopeful ball to Brobbey. He clears his lines, but if you watch Caicedo and Santos, the desire just isn't there. They seem to expect their defenders to handle it.
"As Brobbey holds it up, he's so strong, he gets his head up, rolls it to Talbi, great finish in the bottom corner. What a day for Sunderland. I think Regis Le Bris has done a brilliant job with his game plan today and all his players executed it well."
Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris celebrates with his players at Chelsea
Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris celebrates with his players at Chelsea
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Former Manchester United midfielder and Middlesbrough Michael Carrick waxed lyrical about the Black Cats following their win on the road.
“I’m hugely impressed, I think there’s so many positives to look at," he said."I think the biggest one for me is the way they came into the league, by the play-offs.
"It kind of puts you back three or four weeks. So they’ll have probably gone into that spell with two plans. ‘Do we go up?’ ‘Do we not go up?’
"It puts you behind and today they had four players who were from the team last season. It’s a big change. From a coaching perspective, to implement that so quickly, to accumulate the points they’ve got.
"It’s an unbelievable achievement to be sat here with so many points."