A game full of drama saw Chelsea miss out on the chance to go top of the Premier League and also meant the title is once again out of their hands as Sunderland prevailed 1-2 winners.
The game also saw the end to Jose Mourinho’s 77 game unbeaten home League run as goals from Connor Wickham and Fabio Borini cancelled out Samuel Eto’o’s opener.
Chelsea lined up with Samuel Eto’o up-front ahead of Willian, Salah and Oscar. Ramires played alongside Matic and Mark Schwarzer filled in for the ill Petr Cech.
Chelsea started patiently as Sunderland put men behind the ball, and Chelsea had long spells of possession around the 18 yard box.
However, Samuel Eto’o gave Mourinho’s side the opener as he volleyed home Willian’s corner from point-blank range. From here, it seemed a game of ‘how many’ for Chelsea, but this was not to be the case.
The lead didn’t last long, however, when, from their first corner of the game, Sunderland equalised. Marcos Alonso was found unmarked on the edge of the area, and Schwarzer’s save from his volley was far from convincing, falling kindly for Connor Wickham to tuck away to make the score 1-1.
The rest of the second half lacked goals, but Chelsea looked the more threatening, with Vito Mannone making two last-gasp saves to deny Chelsea going back in front, as well as making up for his midweek error against Manchester City.
The introduction of Demba Ba in the second half gave Chelsea a variety of options up front but failed to provide the cutting edge needed. Similarly, Fernando Torres looked sharp but failed to get in positions to have a chance of scoring.
It wasn’t until the 82nd minute when Azpilicueta was deemed to have fouled Jozy Altidore inside the area when the clearest chance of the half for either side came.
Former Chelsea player, on loan from title rivals Liverpool, tucked the ball away to put Sunderland infront and essentially end Chelsea hopes of a title come May. You couldn’t make it up.
There was much anger sparked from the award of the penalty from Chelsea fans and even stuff. The soft manner of the penalty forced Chelsea coach Rui Faria to square up to referee Chris Foy, resulting in his sending off.
Ramires was lucky to stay on the field following a deliberate elbow in the face of Larsson, and the Brazilian may yet face a ban as Mike Dean appeared to miss the incident altogether.
The final moments of the match fizzled out and Chelsea fans were left wondering, yet again, how after heroic performances against some of the country’s and Europe’s biggest sides, a side such as Sunderland can be the one to cause their downfall.
After the game, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was clearly unhappy with the referee’s performance and how the refs have performed all season:
“I want to congratulate Mike Dean. Fantastic performance. And finally congratulations to Mike Riley – the referees boss.”
Jose’s sarcastic tone may not come across on paper, but it was clear the the boss was fuming with the decisions that went against his side today.
However, this did not take away from Mourinho congratulating Sunderland on their win, claiming it “does not matter how they won”. Mourinho also praised his players for their performance.
Sunderland manager and former Blues favourite Gus Poyet joked about the fact that another former Blue, Fabio Borini, had done his parent club Liverpool a huge favour with his winner:
“He’s going to have a few texts from a few friends from Liverpool, that’s for sure.”
The result means Chelsea remain two points behind Liverpool, but the Merseyside club play tomorrow (Sunday) and can extend their lead at the top to five points.
A poor refereeing display and antics on the sidelines may take away from a few individual errors that led to the goals, and, once again, Chelsea’s inability to finish chances that came their way.
In addition, the certain amount of control in the title race that came to Chelsea with Manchester City’s draw vs Sunderland midweek has now gone, as City can once again overtake the Blues with their games in hand.
Chelsea’s goal difference is also considerably poorer than those either side of them in the table, meaning an unlikely title win will have to be done by a clear margin.
Silverware is most likely going to come in the form of the Champions League now, as Chelsea begin their second leg tie against Athletico Madrid on Tuesday evening.
Chelsea’s next League game is the one which many thought would be title deciding, away to leaders Liverpool. The trip to Anfield lost meaning today as, regarding the Reds beat Norwich on Sunday, they can afford to lose and still have the title in their hands.
There is no doubt that Mourinho and his side will fight until the final day to bring the title home in the boss’ first season back at the Bridge, but the reality is that a title win in this period of transition was maybe just a step too far for the boys in blue.
Chelsea vs Sunderland: Match facts
- Chelsea have conceded a Premier League penalty for the first time since January 12, 2013
- Vito Mannone made 14 saves today, the joint-most by any goalkeeper in a PL game since 2003/04
- Shots [on target]: Chelsea 31[15]-7[3] Sunderland
- Jose Mourinho has lost his first home league game as Chelsea manager, in his 78th match at Stamford Bridge.
- Connor Wickham’s goal was the first that Chelsea have conceded in 570 minutes of Premier League football at home.
- All Samuel Eto’o’s Chelsea goals have come at Stamford Bridge (12)
Source: Opta
