Just when it looked like Chelsea were starting to pick up some momentum and turn their season around, it came to a screeching halt against Sunderland. The day had started so well for the Blues as Alejandro Garnacho put them ahead with an early goal and his first for the club. But after that, they seemed to lose their way.
While Chelsea had a lot of possession, they did not really cause Sunderland many problems. The Blues had a tough time breaking down their resolute defence, which has been an issue for them without the creativity and goal threat of Cole Palmer.
On the other hand, they always looked shaky in defence throughout. Once again, they could not deal with a long throw and ended up conceding the equaliser. And in transitions, Josh Acheampong looked like the only one with the pace and on ball ability to keep them out of trouble.
As a result, Enzo Maresca's decision to take off Acheampong for Tosin Adarabioyo proved to be a massive error. And it was clear in the manner of the goal they conceded in added time to hand Sunderland the victory on a plate.
Enzo Maresca slammed for mistake that led to Chelsea defeat
Sunderland sent a long ball on the counter and Tosin allowed the forward to hold the ball up in the box for several seconds, without doing any defending of note. He did not push him sideways or even try to make a tackle.
This allowed the Sunderland forward to lay it off for one of his onrushing teammates, who made no mistake and put it into the back of the Chelsea net. And it is safe to say that the fans were not happy.
As one Chelsea fan wrote: "You bring on Tosin (a 1v1 cone) for the guy who was single-handedly saving us in transition and you deserve that. Can only guess Josh was injured or that was foolish."
Tosin is the most experienced defender that Chelsea have got. But age does not equal quality. Acheampong was having a pretty good game and should have never been taken off, unless he is dealing with an injury that we do not know of.
It is safe to say that Chelsea's season is starting to unravel now. They do not look like a team that is capable of making it to the Champions League spots at the moment, which should have been the minimum target.
Yes, Maresca has some key players missing through injury. That being said, he has enough to get the better of Sunderland at home.