Chelsea repeated what surely would have been heavily instructed not to, lose again before an international break.
Back in September, The Blues went to Brentford and were defeated 3-0 before the international break. This time, it was a defeat to Sunderland. Some may feel hard done after some controversial calls from referee Jarred Gillet, notably awarding a penalty against Levi Colwill for a foul on Brian Brobbey. On replay, it looked clear that Brobbey tripped over his own heel and was also dragging Colwill back.
But despite the refereeing controversies, Alonso's side were no value for money today, creating only one noteworthy chance - a cross from Marco Palestra onto the head of Morgan Rogers in the first half.
Despite Sunderland not having a goal in their last three home league matches, sitting bottom of the league before kick off and playing three days ago, losing 2-0 to Dinamo Zagreb, Chelsea could only muster up an xG of 0.53 and were outfought physically all game.
Let’s take a look at my player ratings from today :
Mike Penders - 7.5
Made a really good save in the second half to deny Sunderland going two up. Passing was good under pressure. Growing in confidence.
Pep Chavarria - 7
He tried. He works hard. Good under pressure. Lacked attacking threat, though.
Levi Colwill - 6
Penalty not his fault, but still could have done much better up against Brobbey, he needs to be stronger. Was booked for dissent and taken off at half time for Estevao.
Wesley Fofana - 6.5
Not great but not bad, he was all over the place in the opening 20-30 minutes against Brobbey, but grew into the game and won a few battles. Impressive in the air with 7/8 aerial duels won.
Still susceptible to an error, where a tackle on his own player Moises Caicedo led Sunderland through on goal via a deflection, only for Penders to save.
Marco Palestra - 5
Could have had an assist when his first half cross to Morgan Rogers was headed wide. Other than that he struggled defensively and going forward, particularly with the speed of the play.
Romeo Lavia - 6
Lacked the impetus to get Chelsea forward through his usual dribbles. No bad moments in the match but it would have been nice to see him do more with the ball, considering he had the most touches in the match with 107.
Moises Caicedo - 7.5
Probably Chelsea’s best player and the most active in winning second balls, which Chelsea struggled with overall. Dropped into centre back in the second half and did well. Led the team in most defensive contributions, with a whopping thirteen.
Jordan Henderson - 5.5
Again, like Fofana, not bad but not great - kept things ticking, but Chelsea need more than that. Feels like the honeymoon period may be coming to an end for Jordan, who much like Lavia, lacked any sort of creativity or impetus when moving forward.
Cole Palmer - 3
Poor performance from Palmer. Could have been lower without the driving run in the first half which should have been at least a foul on the edge of the box, or potentially a penalty if the contact continued inside. It was hard to tell.
Chelsea need their best players to step up and after another England rejection, Palmer did next to nothing going forward all match. an individual xg of 0.04 tells the full story.
Pedro Neto - 6
Worked hard but this type of game wasn’t for him. There was no space in behind for him to run into as Sunderland sat deep and compacted the spaces between midfield and attack.
Morgan Rogers - 4
One score higher than Palmer for effort and a few driving runs but end product was awful. Lost possession many times under pressure and had heavy touches. One question is, where has his want to shoot from range gone?
Rogers was known to blast from range several times a game at Aston Villa, and yet at Chelsea there are several games like today against a deep block where instead of trying to take on four players at once, a shot would have been better.
Subs :
Estevao - 6.5
Brought on at half time, Estevao tried to get Chelsea forward but found it hard to deal with the lack of space and was often quickly crowded out and double teamed. Gusto, who came on for Palestra in the second half, should have supported him more. Was perhaps unlucky not to have an assist late on when Welbeck headed over a dangerous free kick.
Malo Gusto - 5
Average. Could have helped Estevao more in attack.
Danny Welbeck - 4
Maybe slightly harsh but Chelsea need more from Danny. It is hard to say if Alonso is wrong or not to keep playing Neto because when Chelsea do have a striker not named Joao Pedro on the pitch, it doesn’t seem to make any difference.
He often seems off the pace and not in sync with any of the other attackers, and for someone who has a good history of scoring headers, he should have buried one from Estevao late on in the match.
Geovanny Quenda - 6
Only had fifteen minutes but was positive and had a low shot which was tipped wide by Roefs. Hard to know what position Quenda is as he has been moved about a lot but today he came on at left wing back for Chavarria. Interesting to see that he has a long throw too, could be a new weapon for Chelsea.
Emmanuel Emegha - N/A
Was on for less than ten minutes. Alonso should perhaps give him more game time considering that he called him “very special” in a press conference a few weeks ago.
Xabi Alonso - 3
Poor tactical performance from Chelsea’s manager who admitted that they did not do enough going forward. Chelsea lacked fluidity, intensity and ideas. He gets a particularly low rating considering Sunderland played three days ago, whereas he had a full week to prepare the players mentally and tactically.
Also, a strange choice to blame Colwill in the post match presser for the penalty on Brobbey when it was not a foul.
Chelsea sit fifth in the league table and while they are only six points off second placed Brighton, they are also only four points ahead of ten placed Spurs. Bournemouth and Everton are picking up momentum, and are hot on the tails of The Blues.
It was unfortunately another afternoon which would not have been a surprise for any away fan. Any hope of putting together a run of wins will have to wait. Charity FC, again.
