Chelsea FC traveled north to face Sunderland at the Stadium of Light and will head home with a share of the points after a pulsating draw. The Blues came in to the match six points clear at the top of the league and had a chance to pile more pressure on both Southampton and Manchester City who face off Sunday in an early kickoff. The ideal scenario would of course be a Chelsea FC victory paired with a draw tomorrow to give the Blues at minimum an eight point cushion.
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Unfortunately for the Blues, Sunderland had different ideas about how the evening would go. The Black Cats have been a bogey team for Chelsea FC in recent years and it was last year’s shock 1-0 loss to them that effectively ended the Blues’ title charge. That victory came with a great deal of controversy as Cesar Azpilicueta was judged to have fouled Jozy Altidore in the box when replays suggested that the American forward simply slipped by stepping on the ball.
This time around the chances came more often for Sunderland and they could make the claim that they had the more clear cut chances on the day. The Blues’ best chance came courtesy of Willian who saw his long range shot tipped on to the post. Chelsea huffed and puffed around the Sunderland box but could not break them down through the center of defense. Branislav Ivanovic was strangely subdued on the day though he did come close courtesy of a lovely dinked pass in to the box but his shot was saved by Costel Pantilimon.
Much of the match was played around the Black Cats’ box but they had their chances through Santiago Vergini but his shot was just a bit high and went out off the crossbar. LLate substitute Jozy Altidore also had a chance in a moment of chaos in the Chelsea FC box but his close range shot was smartly saved by Thibaut Courtois who was in excellent form on the day. As the match opened up, Adam Johnson had two gilt-edged chances but the more clear cut of the two was scuffed wide.
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Jose Mourinho made a double substitution bringing on Loic Remy for Didier Drogba and Diego Costa and even brought on Andre Schurrle for a visibly exhausted Willian but to no avail. Drogba got on the end of a few crosses and had the last touch of the match but could not direct it towards goal. It was a disappointing result especially considering the two penalty shouts Chelsea FC had but the Blues remain undefeated and top of the league by a good margin.
Match Notes: Diego Costa was booked for hitting Wes Brown in the face in a play that looked unintentional but nonetheless he will miss Wednesday’s date with Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge.