Just when it looked like Chelsea were gaining serious momentum, what happened?
When the Blues took the lead against Sunderland in the fourth minute through Alejandro Garnacho’s goal, they looked poised to cruise to a typically impressive victory at 3pm on Saturday.
However, Wilson Isidore equalized for the Black Cats moments later, and as the home side looked to score their own winner, Kemsuddin Talbi snatched the win in the dying minutes, prompting wild celebrations from the Mackem family, who were away in west London.
Chelsea finished the afternoon with 16 shots on target compared to Sunderland’s 10, but Robert Sanchez made six saves while Robin Roofs was limited to just two. That is why the newly promoted team finished the match with higher xG figures of 0.97-1.16.
Previously, Enzo Maresca’s side had won four games on the spin, beating Ajax 5-1 in the Champions League and beating both Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
However, this time there will be question marks regarding the director. So, with a competitive London derby against Tottenham next Saturday coming up, which players should Maresca sideline after their performance in this defeat?
Joao Pedro starts life at Chelsea
Back in the summer, Joao Pedro was a revelation after arriving from Brighton midway through the Club World Cup and starting out on the beaches of Brazil.
He scored two goals on his debut against his former team Fluminense in the semi-finals, and a few days later in the final against Paris Saint-Germain.
However, since serious football returned, he has not met these apparently astronomically high standards.
Pedro has endured something of a goalscoring drought this season, with only two shots on target against West Ham and Fulham in August, which is not ideal given Liam Delap’s long-term absence.
It also didn’t help Pedro’s cause that he missed the annihilation against Ajax after being suspended after being sent off in stoppage time against Benfica on Wednesday night, but the team produced a free-flowing, goal-producing performance in his absence.
According to Sofascore, he touched the ball just 30 times in 85 minutes on the field during Sunday’s defeat to Sunderland, lost the ball nine times, was ruled offside twice, had no shots, and was replaced by Tyrik George in the closing stages, but Chelsea supporters may have wanted to see a change sooner.
However, his spot in the starting lineup may not actually be under much threat, given that his main competition for playing time may actually have been even worse.
Chelsea’s young players who should be dropped
It’s only October, but Marc Giu is already having a strange season.
The Spanish teenager started the season on loan at Sunderland, making just three appearances, scoring a goal against Huddersfield in the Carabao Cup, before being suddenly recalled following the aforementioned injury to Delap.
His call-up seemed a bit pointless as he didn’t feature in the first six games since returning to West London, but he came off the bench against Nottingham Forest last weekend and became a much-needed central player.
Giu then started against Ajax in midweek, breaking the deadlock in response to his manager’s trust, and again this weekend, he made his first start in the Premier League in a short-lived match against his former club.
But as the table below shows, it’s safe to say he didn’t make Sunderland supporters feel sorry for what could have happened.
State of Marc Giu vs. | ||
|---|---|---|
statistics | guide | match rank |
shot on target | 1 | 8th place |
shot goes off target | 1 | 6th place |
xG | 0.22 | 4th place |
exact path | 2 | 30 days |
a duel was held | 3 | 23rd |
won a duel | zero | 30 days |
loss of ownership | 6 | 17th |
touch | 10 | 26th |
SofaScore rating | 6 | 30 days |
Statistics by SofaScore | ||
As noted in the table, Giu won zero duels, made just two passes and touched the ball just 10 times, the same number as Jamie Gittens, who was substituted in the 76th minute.
Football London’s Bobby Vincent noted that “little changed” from Dan Ballard and gave him a rating of 4/10, while Sam Tabto of the Evening Standard added that he “struggled to get into the game” and lacked “fineness”, adding that the game was “a reminder of his inexperience”. We suggest that both are very polite ways of saying it.
So, in the end, Barcelona’s wonder player may not be the answer to Chelsea’s centre-forward conundrum.
With games against Spurs, Barcelona and Arsenal coming up in November, Maresca would prefer alternative options, especially in those tougher assignments.
