Own goal sees Blues stumble past Sunderland

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Chelsea were indebted to a bizarre own goal from Sunderland's Phil Bardsley as they stumbled past the Black Cats to stay hot on the heels of Premier League leaders Arsenal on Wednesday evening.

With the festive season well underway, the Blues were - just about - able to follow up Sunday's impressive defeat of Southampton with another three-point-haul against a side rejuvenated under former Chelsea hero Gus Poyet.

After suffering another shock early set-back - this time after 14 minutes, rather than seconds - Chelsea were able to rally around the talismanic duo of Frank Lampard and Eden Hazard, with the pair combining to give José Mourinho's side the half-time advantage.

The hosts were not to be beaten so easily, however, and lackadaisical Chelsea defending enabled Sunderland skipper John o'Shea the opportunity to equalise shortly after the break - before a brilliant second from Hazard saw the Blues back on course to return to London with just a third away league win of the campaign.

Yet the scoring was not yet finished, and it was Bardsley - the goalscoring hero in his side's surprise win over Manchester City last month - scored first in his own goal before making amends moments later to set up a tense finale.

With the Blues' nearest rivals Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal all winning, it means that Mourinho's charges remain in second, four points behind their cross-city rivals in the title race. Yet the (relatively) surprise result of the evening saw Everton win at Old Trafford for the first time in some 21 years to leave the defending champions a huge eight points behind Chelsea, and a whopping 12 off top-spot.

A number of changes might have been expected with a number of games in quick succession during the festive period, but Mourinho made only one change to the side that won at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, with Willian coming in for the injured Oscar.

A series of defensive lapses was the root cause of concern for the Blues on the night - indeed, all three of the Black Cats' goals came from set-piece deliveries. Thankfully, from Mourinho's point of view, an inspired Eden Hazard acted as the perfect get-out-of-jail-free card.

The Belgian was simply majestic throughout, and from the moment that Frank Lampard levelled just four minutes after after Altidore's opener, the confidence he exuded was infectious.

In truth, the Blues should have had the game wrapped up by half-time - by the time Hazard had supplied a 32nd-minute lead with an exquisite shot from the edge of the box that nestled in the side-netting, the Blues had the hosts firmly on the back foot, and it looked as if it would be a long night indeed for the local faithful.

But their hopes were significantly raised when o'Shea restored parity early in the second half, with Chelsea again lacklustre after the restart. This time more defensive woe from a corner allowed the Irishman to spin and fire beyond the helpless Petr Cech - but that moment was little more than a flash-in-the-pan as the visitors, spurred on, rather than deterred by this set-back, upped the ante.

And it was came as little surprise that it was the Blues' diminutive Belgian superstar that pushed them back in front. This time it was Lampard who turned provider, superbly back-heeling the ball into Hazard, who rifled home with aplomb.

By that point, the ineffectual Fernando Torres had been replaced by Demba Ba, and the hulking Senegalese had a significant hand in the eventual winner as his ball across the face of goal was inexplicably slid beyond his own goalkeeper by the hapless Bardsley in the 84th minute.

The former Manchester United man - who had scored against the Blues in this fixture back in February 2011 instantly made amends as he prodded home a loose ball after yet more kamikaze Chelsea defending, but it was not enough for Sunderland, who remained slumped at the bottom of table with a poultry eight points; some five points adrift of safety.

For Mourinho and his men it was a case of job done - just about! Whilst the Blues were at times magnificent going forward, and the effervescent Hazard was quite simply sublime, further defensive woes mean that the team has already shipped 14 goals in as many league matches this season - just one goal shy of the amount the side conceded in the entirety of Mourinho's first season in charge.

It is likely that the Special One will dip deep into Roman Abramovich's pockets in January - defensive reinforcements, on this evidence, should be the absolute priority.

But rather than reflecting on shortcomings at the back, the Blues can now look forward to another away game, this time against Stoke on Saturday, with the hope of slashing Arsenal's lead to just one point by the time the Gunners host Everton on Sunday evening. This third league win on the bounce equals the Blues' best display of form and underlines that their annual winter blip has well and truly been nipped in the bud.

[Spike 12,049]

Goddammit, I hadn't seen this yet and was hoping to download from here. I hate you so goddamn much right now.

[zolayes 14,489]

what a fucking headline

try this

Alex " blue lion " linked with Sun Cracked Mirrior and Hate Mail after failing to sell his body to pay his tuition fees

[Ryan Fong 2,776]

Stumble past? Hardly the truth imo. We were in control quite comfortably, lousy set piece defences created this thrilling score line which flatters Sunderland a lot.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Stumble past? Hardly the truth imo. We were in control quite comfortably, lousy set piece defences created this thrilling score line which flatters Sunderland a lot.

No, we definitely stumbled past. Mourinho said it himself - we should have won the game very comfortably. In the end we were indebted to an own goal and we were hanging on for dear life against Sunderland. If that doesn't constitute "stumbling" past an opponent I'm not quite sure what does! You're right in saying the scoreline flatters Sunderland - but if we'd have been that lackadaisical against another opponent we'd have lost last night. We were lucky to be playing against such an out-of-form unit.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

I think the headline should be "Hazard destroys Sunderland by himself" or something

[The only place to be 11,313]

We were lucky to be playing against such an out-of-form unit.

Sunderland's last three home results were wins over Newcastle, Southampton and Man City. They're a formidable unit at home and we absolutely anhailiated them in open-play. It was just a case of three uncharacteristic errors at set-pieces that led to a bit of tension in the final 8 minutes or so.

If you must use the word 'stumbled' then we stumbled over the line rather than stumbling past them. Overall it was one of the most complete performances we've had all season, but sometimes you just ship odd goals.

[bushman 2,043]

Sometimes, I admire the bombastic words in English language. " Stumbled " is one of them.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Sunderland's last three home results were wins over Newcastle, Southampton and Man City. They're a formidable unit at home and we absolutely anhailiated them in open-play. It was just a case of three uncharacteristic errors at set-pieces that led to a bit of tension in the final 8 minutes or so.

If you must use the word 'stumbled' then we stumbled over the line rather than stumbling past them. Overall it was one of the most complete performances we've had all season, but sometimes you just ship odd goals.

That's interesting, the last time I looked at the table they had just eight points from a possible 42 in the league. Formidable indeed. Let's not kid ourselves here, we weren't playing a team even of Swansea or Cardiff's quality. The fact we shipped three goals to Sunderland is concerning, regardless of the circumstances. It doesn't matter how or why, we still let in three goals. If that doesn't really concern you then great, move on. I'm very worried about our defensive lapses - mainly caused by indescribable brain-farts, á la Luiz against Cardiff, Essien against Southampton, Ivanovic against Basel etc. etc. - and think that if we do that sort of thing against the likes of Arsenal, City, or Liverpool, we'll be seriously punished for it.

[Ryan Fong 2,776]

No, we definitely stumbled past. Mourinho said it himself - we should have won the game very comfortably. In the end we were indebted to an own goal and we were hanging on for dear life against Sunderland. If that doesn't constitute "stumbling" past an opponent I'm not quite sure what does! You're right in saying the scoreline flatters Sunderland - but if we'd have been that lackadaisical against another opponent we'd have lost last night. We were lucky to be playing against such an out-of-form unit.

He also said it was our best away performance. If Torres were wearing his shooting boots it could've been a massacre.

However you are right, amateur mistakes could cost us the game no matter how good we play in general. I completely understand what you try to say I just don't think "stumble" is the right word to reflect what has happened on the pitch. It's the perfect word to describe all those United's jammy wins though lol.

[Sidzeret 2,257]

Let's just say we held on to fear life in the icy nort east to scrape 3 points.

Alex gave all the credit to Phil Bardsley

[The only place to be 11,313]

That's interesting, the last time I looked at the table they had just eight points from a possible 42 in the league. Formidable indeed. Let's not kid ourselves here, we weren't playing a team even of Swansea or Cardiff's quality. The fact we shipped three goals to Sunderland is concerning, regardless of the circumstances. It doesn't matter how or why, we still let in three goals. If that doesn't really concern you then great, move on. I'm very worried about our defensive lapses - mainly caused by indescribable brain-farts, á la Luiz against Cardiff, Essien against Southampton, Ivanovic against Basel etc. etc. - and think that if we do that sort of thing against the likes of Arsenal, City, or Liverpool, we'll be seriously punished for it.

It absolutely matters how and why. The first was just a lucky ricochet and Terry lost Altidore - I wouldn't expect to see that too many times.

The second and third were just cases of the marking at set-pieces not being tight enough. That's something you can work on in a couple of sessions or just scheme slightly differently (having someone like Drogba in the centre of the box may well have stopped both goals). From open play we rarely looked troubled and managed to recover the ball and break on numerous occasions, with pace and accuracy.

Let's not do Sunderland down - at home they've shown good recent form since changing managers and we absolutely destroyed them last night. Yes we have some defensive concerns, but we also have midfield concerns and striking concerns because we're still a team being moulded. We won't be perfect overnight but if you actually look at the hows and whys of things, there's really no need for the panic some seem to be feeling.

[bushman 2,043]

Just one thing, I would like to remind you folks here. Sunderland = the bottom of PL standings.

[Barbara 15,149]

I think in terms of scoreline, yes, we stumbled because my heard stopped and my blood ran cold when Ki the Korean kid had a Hazard moment during stoppage time and passed to the guy - that should have shot (and would probably score) and then when that guy passed back to him, only he literally stumbled (okay more like slipped) and the danger was put away. If we haven't conceded stupidly in three previous occasions I wouldn't have a heart attack at that moment and stop living at the early age of 33.

Now performance wise, we were very solid and as I just said in the match's thread, even if Sunderland are the at the bottom of the table, they didn't play like that and this same side beat Manchester City in the Stadium of the Light just 10 days ago. They're playing MUCH better under Gus (although it could be new manager honeymoon more than anything else, time will say how much Gus really improved them for real). I don't pick opponents, we play the team we're drawn to play that week game and against sides playing worse than Sunderland did yesterday we've done worse this season.

My fave part of the article is the pic (kidding, Lex). It seems like some sort of blue animals, standing (or sitting) there watching the beast Hazard

[The Skipper 20,593]

Stumbled makes it sound as if it we struggled to beat them which clearly was not the case.

[Korea 734]

Ki!!!!

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Stumbled makes it sound as if it we struggled to beat them which clearly was not the case.

No, stumbled makes it sound like we stumbled over the finish line, which we did. We edged a 4-3, we didn't kill them 4-0 as some people seem to think we did.