Chelsea’s hopes of finishing in the top four suffered a blow as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against bottom side Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Enzo Le Fée scored a penalty in the 36th minute after Levi Colwill fouled Brian Brobbey to give the hosts the only goal of the game.
Régis Le Bris’ side move up from the bottom of the table and earned their second league win of the season. However, Chelsea have slipped out of fourth place and now sit outside the top four going into the international break.
Xabi Alonso’s side dominated possession but struggled to create much throughout. They did not manage their first shot on target until the 45th minute. Sunderland were much more lively, despite losing their captain Granit Xhaka to injury early on in the third minute, and only three days after suffering defeat to Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League. Here are five talking points from a frustrating afternoon for the Blues:
Two Penalty Calls Go Against Chelsea
A penalty shout from Cole Palmer looked to be coming around the 24th minute as Noah Sadiki and Luke O’Nien sandwiched him. However, the referee Jarred Gillett did not award a spot kick. VAR reviewed the incident and found that any contact with the Chelsea forward was outside of the box.
Another ten minutes later, Brobbey and Colwill collided as they chased a clearance. They pulled shirts as they collided, and Gillett awarded the spot kick. Colwill was shown a yellow card for his protests. However, a FotMob poll of over 20,000 fans found that 57% of people voted it should not have been given.
Brobbey And Talbi Caused Problems
Brobbey caused problems all afternoon. He was the main outlet for Sunderland and played up top alone as his teammates defended in a mid-low block. The Dutch striker used his strength well to get the better of Colwill. He should have scored twice before the penalty, as he headed wide and fired over the bar.
Chemsdine Talbi also caused problems on the left. He caused Marco Palestra to have a tough afternoon, as he got the ball into the box twice in the opening 18 minutes. Palestra looked much better going forward and created Chelsea’s best chance of the first half with a cross for Morgan Rogers. However, he was replaced by Malo Gusto in the 62nd minute.
Too Much Possession But No Penetration
Chelsea controlled the ball as Romeo Lavia dropped between the two centre-backs to create a three-man line. Jordan Henderson sat just in front. Cole Palmer also regularly dropped into midfield to receive the ball, but Sunderland were compact and always closed him down.
Chelsea had 68% of possession; however, they only had an xG of 0.53 compared to Sunderland’s 2.55. They only had three touches in the box in the first half, and Sunderland were the first team this season to stop the Blues from having a shot in the opening 15 minutes.
Blunt Attack Without Joao Pedro
Joao Pedro was absent from his fourth league game of the season, so Alonso once again named Pedro Neto as his false nine. However, the Portuguese failed to make an impact, as he did not have a touch in the box. He was also shown a yellow card in the 55th minute for dissent.
Chelsea weren’t able to play through Sunderland, and Neto doesn’t have the physical presence of a natural centre forward. Danny Welbeck came on after the hour to provide more of that presence. However, he headed over the bar from a great position after Estevao’s stoppage-time free kick.
Caicedo In Centre Back Shows Lack Of Depth
Colwill was substituted at half-time after his yellow card and penalty. Alonso made an attacking substitution by bringing on Estevao. This meant that Moises Caicedo was forced into centre-back alongside Wesley Fofana.
The Ecuadorian played well in the position. However, using their best holding midfielder as a centre-back shows how short of centre-backs they are. This makes the case for bringing in a defender stronger going into the January transfer window. The Blues will now have time to regroup over the international break.