Sunderland 1-0 Chelsea: result and report

The Pundit picked Chelsea (40%): wrong

Report

Sunderland beat Chelsea 1-0 at the Stadium of Light, and they earned it. Régis Le Bris's side had lost five of their six most recent Premier League matches, yet they created the better chances against a Chelsea team that had most of the ball.

One moment decided the game. Enzo Le Fée scored a penalty in the 36th minute, and Chelsea never found a reply. Xabi Alonso's side had 69% of possession but could not turn it into an equaliser.

Le Fée was named player of the match. That fits a game in which his penalty was the only goal, though Sunderland's threat went beyond that one kick.

Chelsea's possession and Sunderland's chances

Despite the narrow scoreline, Sunderland made the better chances. They finished with more than 2.3 xG to Chelsea's under 0.7. They also had four big chances to Chelsea's two. Because they missed three of those four, the margin stayed at one goal when it could have been wider.

Chelsea had the territory but not the openings. They had 54 dangerous attacks to Sunderland's 17 and held the higher pressure through the match. Still, all of that produced only six shots and very little xG.

The one counter-signal is shots on target. Chelsea hit the target four times to Sunderland's two, so Sunderland's goalkeeper made four saves while Chelsea's made one. Sunderland were not untroubled. However, Chelsea's low xG suggests few of those efforts were high-quality chances.