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Sunderland
leapt up to second in the Premier League table after stunning Chelsea 2-1 at
Stamford Bridge with a 93rd-minute winner from Chemsdine Talbi.
It was the stuff of dreams for Black Cats supporters, who saw Talbi run onto a
lay-off from fellow sub Brian Brobbey before coolly rolling the ball into the
bottom corner to clinch a shock victory. The Sunderland bench emptied as their
players raced towards the travelling fans in delirium.
The rest of Stamford Bridge was stunned. Chelsea had won four in a row going
into this and led after just four minutes through Alejandro Garnacho's first
goal for the club. But Wilson Isidor tapped in an equaliser after a Nordi
Mukiele long-throw caused chaos in the Chelsea box and from then on Sunderland
frustrated their hosts.
Garnacho hit the side-netting twice in that first 45 and was denied on the angle
by goalkeeper Robin Roefs. But after the break, a deflected shot from sub
Estevao was as good as it got for a blunt Chelsea team, who have slipped to
seventh.
Their youngsters may have put five past 10-man Ajax in the Champions League in
midweek but they couldn't pick a way through here. And then there was the sting
in the tail, Talbi delivering a moment to treasure for Sunderland and their
supporters who are revelling in the thrills of top-flight football once again.
Chelsea badly missing a No 9
Sky Sports' Peter Smith:
Marc Guiu was one of three teenage goal-scorers against 10-man Ajax in the
Champions League on Wednesday and had his chance to impress in his first Premier
League start for Chelsea - up against the team he'd briefly been on loan at
earlier this season.
But on this evidence, Liam Delap's pending return from injury cannot come soon
enough. The England man could be involved in midweek Carabao Cup action - and
Chelsea are in real need of a central threat on this stage.
Injured Cole Palmer's creativity is another big miss for a Chelsea team that
struggled to carve a way through Sunderland's well-organised defence. That was
illustrated by the Expected Goals figures, which showed Chelsea at 0.97 to
Sunderland's 1.16 - despite the hosts having 69 per cent possession.
But Guiu was bullied by Dan Ballard, unable to find an angle to receive a pass
from his team-mates and then unable to retain possession when he did get it.
After 76 minutes he was withdrawn having had just 10 touches.
Joao Pedro later went up top, with sub Estevao going to No 10 but still Chelsea
struggled to produce meaningful moments. It was an afternoon to wonder why there
was such eagerness to offload Nicolas Jackson in the summer.
Enzo Maresca memorably insisted on playing down any hype about his team in the
first half of last season. This performance was evidence no one should be
getting carried away by their recent run of wins.
Le Bris: Important to grab the opportunity
when possible
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris:
"It's a good performance, especially after the early goal. We found the right
balance with quality on the ball and the ability to defend high when possible
and set a deep block, connected, strong, hard to beat to protect our goal.
"It's important to grab this opportunity when it's possible. The opponent is so
talented they can change the game but today it was possible and we played well
to get the three points."
On Granit Xhaka: "Xhaka is the captain and sets the standards every day. On the
pitch, he's a really good footballer, enjoys driving the squad. It's like a
second coach on the pitch."
Merson: No chance Sunderland getting
relegated; Chelsea ran out of ideas
Sky Sports' Paul Merson on Soccer Saturday:
"Sunderland are brilliant on the counter-attack. They defend well and the
goalkeeper is good. They have legs all over the pitch. In the second half, l
can't remember the Chelsea goalkeeper making a save.
"They were outstanding. There is no chance they are getting relegated. They will
cause teams problems.
"Chelsea ran out of ideas. They had winger after winger but half of them don't
go past anyone. Pedro looked lost as a No 10. They struggled and were pretty
poor."
Teams
Chelsea Sanchez, James (c), Acheampong (Tosin 76), Chalobah,
Cucurella, Fernandez, Caicedo, Neto (Santos 85), Joao Pedro (George 85),
Garnacho (Estevao 58), Guiu (Gittens 76)
Subs Not Used Jorgensen, Fofana, Hato, Lavia
Booked Santos
Goals Garnacho 4
Sunderland Roefs, Mukiele, Geertruida, Ballard, Mandava, Hume,
Xhaka (c), Sadiki, Traore (Talbi 65), Le Fee (Rigg 75), Isidor (Brobbey 75)
Subs Not Used Patterson, Neil, Mayenda, O’Nien, Masuaka, Jones
Booked Le Fee
Goals Isidor 22, Talbi 90+3
Attendance 39,489
Referee Andy Madley
VAR Craig Pawson