Black Cats stun Chelsea in English Premier League
Defending champions and current English Premier League leaders Chelsea were handed a reality check after being convincingly thrashed Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Chelsea had not lost to Sunderland in ten previous games and were tipped by all pundits to wrap up this game with ease. A win would have strengthened their position at the top of the league table after title contenders Manchester United drew 2-2 with Aston Villa.
The first real chance of the match fell to Sunderland after Jordan Henderson crossed into the Chelsea penalty area towards Asamoah Gyan. Sunderland’s record summer signing may well have given his side the lead against the champions, but his first touch let him down and the chance was gone. Chelsea then had a half chance but Florent Malouda’s pass just eluded Didier Drogba.
Drogba was the Chelsea captain for the day, as regular captain John Terry was out injured. The captain then had another chance to put his side ahead but was denied by a great low header from Sunderland defender Nedum Onuoha on 12 minutes.
Russian Yuri Zhirkov then produced a moment of brilliance for Chelsea as he dribbled past four Sunderland players twisting them inside out before unleashing a shot that was just wide of Craig Gordon’s post. The game then began picking up pace and Sunderland began to physically dominate the game and they tried to impose themselves on Chelsea to keep them at bay.
Danny Wellbeck, on loan to Sunderland from Manchester United, rose above all to strongly head a cross downward to the bottom corner but Petr Cech pulled off a marvelous low save to keep the champions in the game.
Wellbeck had another great chance to give Steve Bruce’s men the lead when he chested down Gyan’s through ball and struck another fierce shot that Cech managed to keep out.
A few minutes later Wellbeck managed to sprint past Ivanovic, and seemed to be getting away from the Chelsea defender, before he was hauled down. The entire Sunderland dug out roared for the Serbian to be shown a red card but referee Chris Foy only gave Ivanovic a yellow card.
Just as it seemed the stalemate would not be broken before half time, the Black Cats took the lead through the unlikeliest of goal scorers. England Under-19 defender and ex-Manchester City player Nedem Onuoha dribbled his way through the heart of the Chelsea defence and stroked a shot past Cech. The Chelsea defence had finally been breached and it was a goal worth savoring for Onuoha and his Sunderland team mates.
Sunderland took the lead into the break and the Chelsea fans booed their team off the pitch at the interval. Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti had much to think about during the break as the shot count of 10-4 in favour of Sunderland was worrying for the home side. The second half began where the first left off, with the home side unable to take control of the game. The brilliant Wellbeck again hit a shot just wide of the upright and Chelsea fans were not pleased with what they were witnessing.
Within the first seven minutes of the second half the Chelsea fans were dealt another blow when Gyan beat the offside trap and tapped Henderson’s pass past Cech to establish a two goal cushion for the away side.
Carlo Ancelloti then decided to replace Florent Malouda with Ivorian Soloman Kalou in order to switch things in attack and try to allow Chelsea to find a way back into the match. Kalou’s first touch was one to forget as he allowed the ball to slide under his feet and out for a goal kick. The Chelsea fans continued to show their displeasure at the performance of their team and almost burst with anger when Chelsea left back Ashely Cole’s back pass was intercepted by Danny Wellbeck, and the speedy striker tapped home from yards out. This summed up Chelsea’s game and their lack of spirit and morale could be seen for the remainder of the game.
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