Chelsea 0 Sunderland 3: Black Cats spring surprise of the season with stunning win at Stamford Bridge to dent leaders
By Matt Barlow for the Daily Mail
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Strange goings-on at the top of the Barclays Premier League and never before has Ray Wilkins looked like such a tactical genius.
Chelsea were destroyed by Sunderland, plain and simple. Nedum Onuoha, Asamoah Gyan and Danny Welbeck scored the goals and it would have been several more but for the brilliance of Petr Cech. Craig Gordon, meanwhile, barely had to make a save.
Three and easy: Danny Welbeck scores Sunderland's third goal
Steve Bruce deserves credit for storming Stamford Bridge and moving up to sixth a fortnight after humiliation in Newcastle, but it is Carlo Ancelotti's season teetering.
The shock sacking of Wilkins last week, after a win over Fulham, may have had little technical impact on this defeat - the absence of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Michael Essien was a far bigger factor - but it rocked a club who were making serene progress at the top of the table.
Manager Ancelotti opposed the move and captain Terry was upset, devoting a third of his programme notes to his sadness at 'an unexpected decision'. 'Ray was a great person to have around,' said Terry. 'He would pick you up when you were down.'
On target: Asamoah Gyan doubles Sunderland's lead at Stamford Bridge
In which case, he will be missed this week. Chelsea have not been thrashed this soundly at home since Roman Abramovich bought the club. The last time was a 3-0 loss to Manchester United in April 2002.
MATCH FACTS
Chelsea (4-3-3): Cech 7; Bosingwa 6, Ferreira 5, Ivanovic 5, Cole 6; Ramires 4 (McEachran 69min, 6), Mikel 6, Zhirkov 5 (Kakuta 76); Anelka 6, Drogba 6, Malouda 6 (Kalou 58, 5). Subs not used: Turnbull, Van Aanholt, Bruma, Sala. Booked: Ivanovic.
Sunderland (4-4-1-1): Gordon 7; Onuoha 8, Turner 7, Bramble 7, Bardsley 6; Richardson 6, Henderson 7, Cattermole 7 (Riveros 90), Zenden 7; Welbeck 9 (Elmohamady 90); Gyan 8 (Malbranque 83). Subs not used: Mignolet, Angeleri, Da Silva, Adams. Booked: Turner, Bramble. Scorers: Onuoha 45, Gyan 52, Welbeck 87.
Man of the match: Danny Welbeck.
Referee: Chris Foy 6.
Attendance: 41,072.
Luckily for Ancelotti, Abramovich was absent. The Chelsea boss, a Double winner in his first season at the club, was jeered by the home crowd for taking off Florent Malouda, but cheered for removing Ramires 11 minutes later.
The £18million Brazilian is not quite up to the pace of the English game. A win would have eased Chelsea five points clear of Arsenal at the top, but Sunderland fancied their chances of an upset against a skinny squad, with Ramires, John Obi Mikel and Yury Zhirkov starting in midfield.
The trio who began the defeat at Liverpool a week earlier lacked the resonance of Lampard, Essien and Michael Ballack.
Terry pulled out hours before kick-off, after a nagging sciatic nerve problem flared up on Saturday and worsened overnight.
With Alex also injured, Ancelotti overlooked teenage centre half Jeffrey Bruma and paired full back Paulo Ferreira with Branislav Ivanovic. Last time they played together, they conceded three in a Carling Cup defeat at Blackburn. Yesterday they were torn to shreds by Welbeck, Gyan and Sunderland's midfield movement.
Ivanovic's normal consistency evaporated and he was lucky not to be sent off for a cynical foul on Welbeck.
Giving Chelsea the Blues: Nedum Onuoha takes on Branislav Ivanovic before scoring Sunderland's opener
In recent years, when Chelsea have slipped, big personalities have saved the day. They were missing here, with Didier Drogba out of sorts after a bout of malaria. Sunderland were without Darren Bent, but seized the chance to dominate the champions.
Cech made two terrific first-half saves from Welbeck within minutes. The first was exceptional, a strong left hand to a header from Onuoha's cross. He then spread his body to block a shot after Welbeck had raced on to Gyan's pass.
Then came a double save. Cech denied Gyan in a one-on-one, then scrambled to block Kieran Richardson's attempt to squeeze the rebound in from a narrow angle.
Happy days: Onuoha celebrates after putting Sunderland in front
No-one had got past him in the Premier League at the Bridge since John Carew's consolation during Aston Villa's 7-1 defeat in March.
The shut-out had reached 916 minutes when Sunderland right back Onuoha, on loan from Manchester City, collected a clearance and danced past feeble challenges from Mikel, Jose Bosingwa and Ivanovic for a cool finish.
Gyan scored the second soon after the break. His clinical finish matched the sweetest of passing moves, with the defence-splitter coming from Jordan Henderson, in a fine display for Fabio Capello ahead of his first England game.
At a glance, there was little to satisfy Capello yesterday, with Terry forced out, still no Lampard, and Ashley Cole hobbling on his troublesome ankle before a lapse that gifted Welbeck the killer third in the 87th minute.
But seven Englishmen started for Sunderland. Henderson, Richardson and Lee Cattermole were impressive. Titus Bramble, Michael Turner and Onuoha were solid in defence, as they were at Tottenham in midweek. Above all, Welbeck looked fresh and dangerous.
With English strikers an endangered species, Capello could do worse than promote the teenager, on loan from Manchester United, from the Under 21 squad.
Welbeck's first goal for Sunderland was simple, as Cole's pass to Cech went straight to him. Bruce's team pushed for more. Cattermole went close and it was Chelsea who were grateful for the final whistle.
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