Chelsea fans slam referee - Source: Getty/X
Chelsea fans slam referee - Source: Getty/X
Chelsea fans are furious with referee Jarred Gillett after their 1-0 loss to Sunderland. Many believe that the referee's decisions cost them the match.
Xabi Alonso was forced to make a big change to his starting XI, as Josh Acheampong was injured. The manager moved to a back four today, with Marco Palestra and Pep Chavarria starting as the full-backs for the first time together.
Levi Colwill started with Wesley Fofana in the middle of the backline, and the Englishman struggled to handle Brian Brobbey. The Sunderland striker got the better of him in a duel and managed to make it into the box before going down.
The referee was quick to point to the spot, and VAR agreed with it despite replays showing that there was no foul from the Chelsea star. Enzo Le Fee stepped up and scored from the spot, and that was the lone goal of the game.
Sunderland's penalty came minutes after the referee waived away a clear foul on Cole Palmer, which VAR couldn't intervene on because it was just outside the box. Chelsea fans were furious with the decision and numerous others that went against them today and posted:
It's the referee against Xabi Alonso’s side today. Sunderland has to do better.
Xabi Alonso spoke about the decisions, but refused to blame the referee for their defeat. He said:
"I haven’t seen Cole’s actions, but there could be a chance that it could be given. The other one, I think it’s an action where he can defend better. It’s our mistake. I was trying to find solutions. We were missing a bit of speed on the ball, a bit of patience playing against a low block. We didn’t create enough chances; we didn’t have enough patience or creativity to create chances. That’s why we were not close to scoring."
Chelsea remain fifth going into the international break.
Xabi Alonso comments on Chelsea's failure to beat Sunderland
Xabi Alonso has claimed that Chelsea were aware of Sunderland's physicality and had prepared for it. He added that their main issue was not creating enough chances in the game and said:
"We were ready for that. We knew it would take a lot to come here and win. It wasn’t that far, but it was about detail and things we can do better. We could have done even better. We didn’t do enough to score what would have been the equaliser. It’s [the] Premier League; to be consistent in this block, we are still developing and improving. Today the feeling is not the best, but we have time to come back and reflect and come back for November and December and progressing."
Chelsea will face Leeds United and Nottingham Forest this month after the players are back from international duty.