Chelsea v Sunderland: half time report
Chelsea 0 Sunderland 1
A sublime goal by Nedum Onuoha has given Sunderland a shock 1-0 lead against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
The on-loan Manchester City full-back slalomed through the Blues static defence at the end of the opening 45 minutes and swept his shot past the excellent Petr Cech to hand Steve Bruce's side an unlikely lead.
Considering that Chelsea annihilated Sunderland 7-2 when the two sides last met at Stamford Bridge back in January, it was an unexpected sight to see the visitors enjoy the better of the opening half.
Asamoah Gyan and Danny Welbeck, in particular, were lively for the Black Cats and kept Cech on his toes.
However, the game's first real chance fell to Yuri Zhirkov midway through the first half. The Russian international embarked on a mazy run, dribbling through a host of Sunderland defenders, but lacked the necessary composure to put his side ahead. A disappointing shot wide of Craig Gordon's far post, though, was a let off for Steve Bruce's men.
Encouraged by that, normal service was quickly resumed with Chelsea enjoying the lion's share of possession in their opponent's half.
Summer-signing Ramires went close to opening his Chelsea account with an unorthodox 20-yard header which almost caught Gordon out, but the Scotland international gathered comfortably.
Didier Drogba then hit a thunderous free-kick, which took a deflection of Onuoha, and flew inches over the Sunderland crossbar.
The visitors were hanging on – just – but had made it to the half hour mark without conceding the opening goal.
And then could have taken a surprise lead with three decent opportunities in the closing stages of the half. First, Welbeck was brilliantly denied by Cech after the striker's header appeared destined to hit the back of the net, then Gyan failed to get a touch on Kieran Richardson's driven cross, before Welbeck again shot at the Chelsea keeper.
Bruce was left incensed at the end of the half after Branislav Ivanovic pulled down Welbeck. The Chelsea defender fouled on the on-loan Manchester United striker, and looked to have been the last man, but referee Chris Foy only booked the Serbia international.
However, the Sunderland boss was ecstatic at the end of the half after watching Onuoha dribble his way past three defenders and tuck the ball into the far corner of the net for what should be a frontrunner for the Goal of the Month accolade.
Can they hold on for one of the shocks of the season?
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