Chelsea’s Dismal Week Concludes with a Defeat to Sunderland
Chelsea’s game with Sunderland can be branded as one of the ‘upsets of the week’. The poor display by Carlo Ancelotti’s men led to plenty of questions for the Blues and plenty of celebrations for Sunderland, who won against the home side in a thrilling 0-3
game on Sunday.
Fans of the Black Cats started celebrating even before the full-time whistle, and cannot be blamed for showing confidence in their side, as Chelsea have perhaps never played so poorly before throughout the Barclays Premier League this season. Sunderland
fans can be forgiven for showing their support in an over-zealous manner as it was their first win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in over 9 years.
Steve Bruce’s side can be congratulated for not only beating top-of-the-table Chelsea, but by an astonishing score-line too. It was a big change from last season when Chelsea beat Sunderland 7-2 at home. Sunderland on this occasion showed that they too can
play some attractive football. Critics had written off Sunderland’s chances of winning the match primarily because they had won only 2 of their last 38 games in the English Premier League.
The Black Cats effectively tore through the home side’s defence and prevented the Blues from what could have been a 10th consecutive clean sheet; a record for the club. The game on Sunday meant that Sunderland, who were previously at 9th
position, soared up to 6th position. Ancelotti’s side stayed top with the North London rivals Arsenal closing in the gap between the 1st and 2nd positions to 2 points, having won 1-2 in their game against Everton at Goodison
Park.
Squad Injuries:
The Blues, who have been top all season, showed how vulnerable their defence was without their regular players. Indeed, one may argue that Chelsea’s main strength lie in their defence and midfield. Skipper John Terry was declared unfit due to a back injury.
Alex was also sidelined with a knee problem, giving way to the Portuguese Paulo Ferreira. Frank Lampard looked much missed as Ramires and Zhirkov were placed in the mid-field. Michael Essien, another mid-field regular, missed the game due to a suspension he
sustained on Wednesday in the game against Fulham.
The Blues were left reeling after the departure of their assistant coach Ray Wilkins who was not offered a new contract with the club. During the game, the regular players such as Drogba, Anelka, Malouda and Kalou created a few but forgettable chances. Critics
may argue that despite not having the largest squad anymore, they lacked the passion and determination that is vital to win games.
Before the match, all the statistics seemed to be favouring the Stamford Bridge faithful. Chelsea had gone a remarkable 871 minutes without having conceded a goal at the Bridge. They had won the last 11 matches against Sunderland and Sunderland had won 1
out of the last 24 away games. Chelsea averaged 4.78 goals per match and Sunderland’s chief goal scorer Bent, who has scored 50 percent of Black Cats’ goals this season, was missing having picked up a hamstring injury.
No visiting player had scored on Chelsea’s turf so far this season but Nedum Onuoha broke that record by scoring in the 44th minute. Chelsea looked the stronger half in the first 30 minutes but were overtaken by subsequent winners Sunderland within
the first half. Ancelotti’s men went into half time with a goal deficient and Steve Bruce’s men found themselves in the confidence-boosting position that they themselves perhaps did not expect to be in before kick-off.
Next on the score sheet was Asamoah Gyan, who fired past Cech in the 52nd minute. The first goal may be called an individual effort but the second one was certainly a team effort, which resulted in Gyan and Zenden celebrating with the Ghana player’s
trademark dance. Sunderland continued to look well organised and worked hard to keep up their form.
Bruce’s side could have scored a possible third through Zenden if Petr Cech had not made a fantastic save in the 63rd minute. The third goal materialised in the 87th minute, scored by Danny Welbeck, who comfortably tucked in the ball
past Cech. Fans of the Black Cats would have been delighted by their team’s attacking feat, especially since they did not decide to simply sit on their 0-1 lead. The Stamford Bridge faithful, who are so used to success at home, were seen leaving the stadium
before the full time whistle.
Steve Bruce later told reporters about the roller-coaster nature of his job, saying, "It was the worst performance of my career two weeks ago and today was arguably the best. Today we have done okay." Ancelotti did not make excuses for his side when asked
about Ray Wilkins, instead he admitted that "It was not a reason" and went on to graciously heap praise on the visitors, saying, "Sunderland played a fantastic game, we played a poor game, we have to do better."
This result would have given Arsene Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson and perhaps even the under-fire Roberto Mancini a confidence boost for next week’s Premier League games.
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