- Chelsea 1-2 Sunderland : Garnacho 4’ – Isidor 22’, Talbi 90+3
Dreadful. Woeful. Embarrassing. Disgraceful. You can pick any synonym you like — they all fit perfectly to describe Chelsea’s shocking home defeat to Sunderland, one that felt inevitable given how utterly incapable the Blues were of breaking down a well-organized opponent.
A low autumn sun hovered over Stamford Bridge as Chelsea looked to secure a fifth straight win in all competitions. Things even started well, with Alejandro Garnacho opening the scoring in the 5th minute. At that point, it seemed like it would be smooth sailing for Enzo Maresca’s men. But on a long throw-in, Sunderland struck back through Wilson Isidor — one of the Black Cats’ standout performers.
From then on, and especially throughout the second half, Chelsea played at a painfully slow pace, toothless and predictable. Régis Le Bris’ 5-man defensive setup completely stifled them. Reinildo locked down Neto and Estevão on his flank, Geertruida excelled as the right-sided center-back, and goalkeeper Roefs stayed sharp whenever called upon.
With Chelsea running out of ideas, Sunderland smelled blood — and in the dying minutes, they found their reward after yet another pitiful defensive sequence from the Blues.
It’s time for some serious soul-searching at Cobham. Maresca’s men will have headaches after this one.