Sunderland 1-0 Chelsea: Blues stumble in Sunderland
Sunderland beat Chelsea 1-0 to move off the bottom of the Premier League table.
The home side took the lead midway through the first-half from the penalty spot after Chelsea centre-back Levi Colwill was judged to have fouled Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey.
The result gives Regis Le Bris’ team their first league win since August but still leaves Sunderland in the relegation zone.
Le Bris said after the game that, “It was a really good game and we deserved the three points.”
Brobbey Bruises Blues
Sunderland lost captain Granit Xhaka to injury only four minutes into the match, the Swiss midfielder being replaced by Jules Ahoka.
Despite this the home side looked solid for much of the first-half, nullifying Chelsea’s creative outlets of Morgan Roger and Cole Palmer, while offering a goal threat on the break.
Brobbey returned from a hamstring injury in Sunderland’s 2-0 Europa League defeat to Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday and looked back to his best for much of today’s game.
His first chance came in the 15th minute when he outsprinted Colwill to meet winger Chemsdine Talbi’s cross at the back post, but dragged his effort wide.
13 minutes later, Brobbey turned Colwill in the centre-circle while Sunderland were on the counter-attack, and sprinted past Wesley Fofana before scooping his shot over the crossbar.
The Dutch striker’s power was instrumental in winning Sunderland’s penalty, when he held off Colwill’s challenge before falling inside the box.
Colwill was not holding Brobbey when the striker went down, but the penalty was awarded after a lengthy VAR check, and cooly converted by Le Fee.
Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders said that, “For me, it wasn’t a penalty. He barely touched him”.
Chelsea Struggle to Break Through
Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso made the attacking change of bringing Brazilian winger Estevao on for Colwill at half-time.
This meant that central midfielder Moises Caicedo moved into Colwill’s centre-back role, and Chelsea switched to a 4-2-4 formation, abandoning the false nine gameplan they’d employed during the first-half.
Estevao was heavily involved in the game, forcing a late tackle from Sunderland right-back Thomas Meunier, but was often out-muscled by left-back Reinildo Mandava.
Alonso made further attacking changes later in the half, bringing on striker’s Danny Welbeck and Emmanuel Emegha for winger Pedro Neto and midfielder Jordan Henderson.
By the end of the game Chelsea were playing with two strikers, two creative midfielders, two wingers, and Fofana as their only regular centre-back.
The visitors’ best chance of the game came in stoppage time, when Welbeck headed Estevao’s free-kick over the bar from close range.
Player of the Match: Reinildo Mandava
Chelsea’s fluid front three meant that Reinildo was tasked with neutralising the threats of Palmer, Rogers, and Neto at different times in the first-half.
He made a crucial clearance from Chelsea left-back Pep Chavarria’s cross midway through the first-half, and helped contain Estevao when the winger came on at half-time.
Estevao was Chelsea’s primary creative outlet in their 2-0 win over Manchester United last Saturday, but struggled to have the same impact when up against Reinildo this week.
The left-back’s accurate long balls also relieved the pressure on his backline.
What’s Next?
Sunderland will return from the international break when they travel to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday November 21st.
The black cats will then host Jagiellonia Bialystok in the Europa League on Thursday November 26th, and Tottenham in the Premier League the following Sunday.
Chelsea meanwhile will host rivals Leeds in the league on Saturday November 21st, before travelling to Nottingham Forest the following Friday.
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