Sunderland leapt up to second in the Premier League table after stunning Chelsea 2-1 at Stamford Bridge with a 93rd-minute winner from Chemsdine Talbi.
It was the stuff of dreams for Black Cats supporters, who saw Talbi run onto a lay-off from fellow sub Brian Brobbey before coolly rolling the ball into the bottom corner to clinch a shock victory. The Sunderland bench emptied as their players raced towards the travelling fans in delirium.
The rest of Stamford Bridge was stunned. Chelsea had won four in a row going into this and led after just four minutes through Alejandro Garnacho’s first goal for the club. But Wilson Isidor tapped in an equaliser after a Nordi Mukiele long-throw caused chaos in the Chelsea box and from then on Sunderland frustrated their hosts.
Garnacho hit the side-netting twice in that first 45 and was denied on the angle by goalkeeper Robin Roefs. But after the break, a deflected shot from sub Estevao was as good as it got for a blunt Chelsea team, who have slipped to seventh.
Their youngsters may have put five past 10-man Ajax in the Champions League in midweek but they couldn’t pick a way through here. And then there was the sting in the tail, Talbi delivering a moment to treasure for Sunderland and their supporters who are revelling in the thrills of top-flight football once again.
Chelsea badly missing a No 9
Sky Sports’ Peter Smith:
Marc Guiu was one of three teenage goal-scorers against 10-man Ajax in the Champions League on Wednesday and had his chance to impress in his first Premier League start for Chelsea – up against the team he’d briefly been on loan at earlier this season.
But on this evidence, Liam Delap’s pending return from injury cannot come soon enough. The England man could be involved in midweek Carabao Cup action – and Chelsea are in real need of a central threat on this stage.
Injured Cole Palmer’s creativity is another big miss for a Chelsea team that struggled to carve a way through Sunderland’s well-organised defence. That was illustrated by the Expected Goals figures, which showed Chelsea at 0.97 to Sunderland’s 1.16 – despite the hosts having 69 per cent possession.
But Guiu was bullied by Dan Ballard, unable to find an angle to receive a pass from his team-mates and then unable to retain possession when he did get it. After 76 minutes he was withdrawn having had just 10 touches.
Chelsea’s Marc Guiu struggled up against Sunderland’s Dan Ballard
Joao Pedro later went up top, with sub Estevao going to No 10 but still Chelsea struggled to produce meaningful moments. It was an afternoon to wonder why there was such eagerness to offload Nicolas Jackson in the summer.
Enzo Maresca memorably insisted on playing down any hype about his team in the first half of last season. This performance was evidence no one should be getting carried away by their recent run of wins.
Le Bris: Important to grab the opportunity when possible
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris:
“It’s a good performance, especially after the early goal. We found the right balance with quality on the ball and the ability to defend high when possible and set a deep block, connected, strong, hard to beat to protect our goal.
“It’s important to grab this opportunity when it’s possible. The opponent is so talented they can change the game but today it was possible and we played well to get the three points.”
On Granit Xhaka: “Xhaka is the captain and sets the standards every day. On the pitch, he’s a really good footballer, enjoys driving the squad. It’s like a second coach on the pitch.”
Maresca: We weren’t good enough – but Sunderland winner ‘easy’ to defend
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca:
“In general, we were not good enough. When you are not good enough in the Premier League, we know that the consequence can be a bad one.
“I said already many times, when you are not able to win, it’s important that you don’t lose. It’s not a transition, because in transition, you are open or it’s one versus none, it’s just one long ball in behind. We are two versus one with the two central defenders. We didn’t defend properly.
“The first goal came from a throw in. But it’s difficult to deal [with] because they bring six, seven, eight players inside the six-yard box, so it’s difficult.
“But overall, I think we were not good enough.”
On Sunderland’s winner: “It can be an easy situation because we are two versus one. The striker is facing his goal, so it’s an easy situation to defend. But probably we tried to manage a little bit because it was the 92nd or 93rd minute, but in that case, for sure, we have to do better.”
Merson: No chance Sunderland getting relegated; Chelsea ran out of ideas
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Paul Merson discusses Chelsea’s inconsistent performances in the Premier League with their ‘very young team’ after they lost to Sunderland
Sky Sports’ Paul Merson on Soccer Saturday:
“Sunderland are brilliant on the counter-attack. They defend well and the goalkeeper is good. They have legs all over the pitch. In the second half, l can’t remember the Chelsea goalkeeper making a save.
“They were outstanding. There is no chance they are getting relegated. They will cause teams problems.
“Chelsea ran out of ideas. They had winger after winger but half of them don’t go past anyone. Pedro looked lost as a No 10. They struggled and were pretty poor.”
