Chelsea hosted Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening in the ninth round of the English Premier League, in a match that was far from the best for Enzo Maresca’s side.
Before this match, Sunderland had not won away from home in the Premier League since April 2014, when they also won at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, ending Jose Mourinho’s historic run as a manager (77 games unbeaten at home).
Sunderland was subsequently relegated and returned to the Premier League this season with a very strong team. They succeeded in repeating the feat, defeating Chelsea at their London home, this time by a score of 2-1.
Chelsea took the lead through Alejandro Garnacho in the fourth minute, and everyone thought it would be an easy task for the Blues. However, Wilson Isidore equalized for the visitors in the 22nd minute, and Shamseddine Talbi stunned the home side with the winning goal in the 93rd minute.
Sunderland is undoubtedly the undisputed dark horse of the Premier League this season. Thanks to this victory, they climbed to second place with 17 points from five wins, two draws, and two defeats. The victory over Chelsea, as mentioned, was Granit Xhaka’s first away win in nine years.
After the defeat, Chelsea’s tally stagnated at 14 points in seventh place, and it appears that coach Maresca will find himself under a lot of pressure from the management, given the poor start to the season so far.
