Chelsea vs Sunderland Review
Sunderland rose to second place in the Premier League standings by coming from behind to secure an impressive 2-1 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, halting the Blues’ streak of four consecutive wins across all competitions. Sunderland hoped they could maintain their form heading into this game, but those hopes were quickly challenged just four minutes into the match. On a counter-attack, Pedro Neto found Alejandro Garnacho, who sprinted down the left side and fired a low shot through Robin Roefs’ legs, scoring his first goal for Chelsea.
Sunderland regained their composure and, following a disruptive long throw into Chelsea’s penalty area, Wilson Isidor was quickest to react and flicked the ball past Robert Sánchez from close range to equalize. A slick sequence of play almost completed the comeback for the black cats, but Isidor’s shot went just wide of the post. Luckily for the home supporters, Chelsea regained control near the end of the first half, nearly reclaiming the lead when Garnacho’s sliding shot at the far post was cleared by Roefs, followed shortly by Trevoh Chalobah’s long-range strike that was tipped over the bar by the goalkeeper.
Possibly frustrated as the game approached the 60-minute mark, Enzo Maresca made a substitution, bringing on Estêvão for the goal scorer Garnacho. Moments after entering, the Brazilian struck a deflected shot narrowly wide, exciting the Stamford Bridge crowd. Playing with a back five for the first time this season, Régis Le Bris’ team stayed well-organized in the second half, limiting Chelsea to only half-chances as the match neared its conclusion. Remarkably, they earned the ultimate reward when substitute Brian Brobbey held up the ball and set up Chemsdine Talbi, who calmly finished to score the winning goal in stoppage time.
A thrilling victory here means Sunderland have now gone 14 away league matches against London teams without a loss (5 wins, 9 draws). Meanwhile, Chelsea’s disappointing result causes them to fall to 8th place in the standings, three points behind the impressive Sunderland, who sit second.
