Confirmed - Kevin Ball returns to Sunderland under Kyril Louis-Dreyfus
Richard Keys echoed Keith Hackett’s view that Sunderland’s late winner at Chelsea should’ve been disallowed
Richard Keys has backed former Premier League referee Keith Hackett’s assessment that Sunderland’s winning goal against Chelsea should not have stood.
Chemsdine Talbi’s stoppage-time strike sealed a stunning 2–1 victory for the Black Cats at Stamford Bridge – but both Keys and Hackett have questioned the decision to allow it. Keys wrote: “So Sunderland’s goal at Chelsea allowed despite Geertruida being in the line of sight of the keeper, but Everton’s is disallowed. Why? Vicario had no chance of getting that. It’s baffling.”
Hackett, speaking to Football Insider, agreed that Lutsharel Geertruida appeared to obstruct Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez’s view from an offside position when Talbi took his shot. “While I don’t like to see goals ruled out for offside, I am surprised the referee wasn’t asked to review the incident on the pitchside monitor,” Hackett said. “In my opinion, the Sunderland player standing in an offside position impacts the Chelsea goalkeeper, and the goal should have been ruled out.”
Despite the debate, Sunderland’s first win at Stamford Bridge since 2014 briefly lifted them to second in the Premier League – a remarkable achievement for Régis Le Bris’ newly promoted side. Sunderland are next in action against Everton at the Stadium of Light this Monday.
What did Enzo Maresca say after the game against Sunderland?
Enzo Maresca conceded that Chelsea were second best after their 2–1 defeat to Sunderland at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea made a bright start and went ahead early through Alejandro Garnacho, but Wilson Isidor levelled for the visitors before half-time.
Despite dominating possession after the break, the Blues struggled to break down Sunderland’s organised defence and were punished in stoppage time when Chemsdine Talbi struck the winner from Brian Brobbey’s clever assist. Maresca admitted his side’s defending for the decisive goal was poor and accepted that Chelsea had fallen short over the course of the match. "I think we were in general we were not good enough," Maresca said.
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"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 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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