Sunderland 3-1

Independent:
Post-Jose Mourinho Blues impress in easy win
Chelsea 3 Sunderland 1
Miguel Delaney Stamford Bridge |

An odd afternoon at Stamford Bridge, and an odd result in the context of this remarkable campaign: Chelsea claimed a routine home win.
In that sense, the team responded in the only way they could, but the real intrigue of this occasion was how a disgruntled crowd would respond to the players.
They could not have made their views clearer: they blamed the squad, and enthusiastically backed Jose Mourinho. This, however, put an odd pressure on the team. If Chelsea lifted their game, that could have been seen as an indictment of their effort under Mourinho. If they didn’t, then it would be vindication of the former manager.

The caretaker manager, Steve Holland, said after the game that he asked the players to look beyond the Mourinho saga, stressing their “responsibility to the club... whatever their personal feelings”, adding this was “important”, because defeat would have put them in the relegation zone. A stark statement in itself.
It did seem symbolic that the three goalscorers – Branislav Ivanovic, Pedro and Oscar – played better than at any point this season. That and the nature of this win raised perhaps the biggest question about the current controversy, beyond what Chelsea do in the long term: were the team now turning it on because Mourinho has gone and they are happy with that, or did the absence of Mourinho’s constrained system and cautious approach just mean they were finally able to switch on?
It is an intriguing issue, and one that involves a whole lot of deeper reflections about player motivation, but the truth probably lies somewhere in between, with different answers applicable to different squad members.
One thing is undeniable: there was much more spark to their attacking play. Chelsea’s forward line was interchanging and creating triangles in a way that has been pretty much absent since January.

In that sense, they were released under Holland, and was one conspicuous difference to the team post-Mourinho beyond the final score.
The opening goal was vintage 2014-15 Chelsea, too, as Ivanovic produced precisely the type of goal he had scored so often in the title-winning campaign. The right-back powered in a header from a set-piece after just five minutes.
The speed with which the goal arrived, so shortly after the Mourinho era had ended, emphasised the feel of a new start that the club’s owner, Roman Abramovich had called for.
It was followed by a second within eight minutes, as Pedro oppor- tunistically latched on to a loose ball in the box and hammered it into the roof of the net.
This dominance, however, was not all down to Chelsea. They were helped by Sunderland looking so dismally soft in the first half, indicating just how much work Sam Allardyce has to do with this squad to keep them up.

“I think we made it really easy for them,” the Sunderland manager said, stating that Chelsea “annihilated” his side.
Allardyce did prove proactive, hauling off centre-half Sebastian Coates for attacker Adam Johnson after just 22 minutes. It did eventually have an effect – even if the visitors had to endure going 3-0 down on 50 minutes through Oscar rolling in a penalty after Willian went down in the box. It was Chelsea’s first League penalty of the season. Another sign of change.
Sunderland immediately picked up, and could well have scored more than three themselves as they created a series of chances. While they only took one, with Fabio Borini striking after a poor Thibaut Courtois parry, it was a reminder of why things have been so calamitous at Stamford Bridge this season.
The day emphasised how effective Chelsea can still be as a team – and how oddly idiosyncratic and political they are as a club.

Chelsea: (4-2-3-1) Courtois; Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry, Azpilicueta; Matic, Fabregas (Mikel, 70); Willian, Oscar (Ramires, 82), Pedro; Costa (Rémy, 75).

Sunderland: (3-5-1-1) Pantilimon; Coates (Johnson, 23), O’Shea, Kaboul; Jones , Toivonen (Borini, 45), M’Vila, Rodwell, Van Aanholt; Watmore (Graham, 79); Defoe.

Referee: Roger East.
Man of the match: Oscar (Chelsea)
Match rating: 6/10

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Observer:

Chelsea fans boo their own players in win over Sunderland
Chelsea 3 - 1 Sunderland
Sachin Nakrani at Stamford Bridge

In this strangest of seasons for Chelsea came the strangest of afternoons and, watching on alongside Roman Abramovich, Guus Hiddink may well have wondered what he has let himself in for, having agreed to become the club’s interim manager for a second time. There were chants of support for the man he is replacing, jeers for the players that remain, and a performance that veered from the sublime to the stuttering in what felt like a blink of an eye. Welcome back Guus, it’s going to be one hell of a ride.
 
That should perhaps be expected from a club that appears incapable of escaping drama and at the end of another tumultuous week in their history the most important thing was that they recorded a first win in four league matches. This, as incredible as it continues to sound, was a relegation scrap and Chelsea did enough to prevail.
One can only wonder what José Mourinho made of it all, especially upon hearing Chelsea had taken a 2-0 lead, though goals from Branislav Ivanovic and Pedro, inside 13 minutes on the back of a display brimming with verve and vigour, drive and desire. The Portuguese, who was at the Amex Arena watching Middlesbrough, managed by his former assistant at Real Madrid Aitor Karanka, beat Brighton, may well have wondered why they could not do the same for him for the bulk of this campaign, and in particular at Leicester on Monday when yet another insipid display by the champions led to Mourinho accusing his players of a “betrayal” and he, in turn, losing his job as Chelsea manager for the second time in eight years.

It is a question which many Chelsea supporters have also been asking and they used this match to make their frustrations and fury clear. Mourinho’s name was chanted loud and lustily while some spectators held aloft banners declaring their love for their former leader and disgust with those in blue. Cesc Fàbregas’s and Diego Costa’s names were booed prior to kick-off and after Pedro had scored came the first chant of “Where were you when we were shit?”

The atmosphere was poisonous, not to mention bewildering as a group of fans became increasingly irritated by the sight of their team playing well. But they were perhaps right to ask where this combination of style and substance had been in recent weeks. As one banner declared: “You let José down. You let us down.” Another called Fàbregas, Costa and Eden Hazard, who was absent here due to the hip injury he picked up at the King Power Stadium, “rats”.
The players may argue that their display came from a collective sense of liberation given they no longer have Mourinho’s intense methods and scathing words wearing them down. With the assistant coach, Steve Holland, in charge, they certainly played like a group reborn. The passing was crisp, the pressing purposeful and the movement relentless as Sunderland came up against a tidal wave of blue right from kick-off.

Ivanovic struck after just five minutes, sending Willian’s corner into the roof of the net with a powerful header, and also played a role in Chelsea’s second, directing a cross into the area that Pedro smashed past Costel Pantilimon.
Sebastián Coates was at fault for both goals and so it was no major surprise to see the defender replaced by Adam Johnson on 23 minutes as Sam Allardyce, the Sunderland manager, looked for a way to get his team back into the contest. But Chelsea kept on coming. Fàbregas and Nemanja Matic were dominating midfield while ahead of them, Willian, Oscar and Pedro were proving impossible to pin down. Diego Costa, meanwhile, was being a nuisance for all the right reasons and came close to scoring twice before the interval.
 
Oscar made it 3-0 via a 50th-minute penalty, which led to more chants in support of Mourinho. It was perhaps apt, then, that Chelsea began to perform, defensively at least, like they so often had under the Portuguese.
Thibaut Courtois pushed Younès Kaboul’s header on to the knee of Fabio Borini to hand the Italian his first goal of the season and from there nervousness spread within the hosts’ ranks. Borini came close to scoring again shortly afterwards and, following more poor handling from Courtois, the excellent Duncan Watmore could have scored on 78 minutes for a Sunderland team that remain 19th having lost for a third successive time.
Chelsea did have chances to extend their lead, most notably via Pedro’s 78th-minute strike, and Courtois made an excellent save from Jermain Defoe late on. But this remains a side short of confidence and poise and it will take Hiddink time to change that. His first opportunity comes with Watford’s visit here on Boxing Day. The 69-year-old will also have to win over the home crowd. He did that during his first spell here in 2009 but the task is more difficult now given the resentment that has developed following Mourinho’s sacking.
The anger is clear, as it also clearly remains inside Costa given he stormed away from this stadium having been booed by some fans after being substituted late on. Mourinho has gone but the strife remains. At least Chelsea have a victory to cheer this Christmas.

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Telegraph:

Chelsea 3 Sunderland 1
Jose Mourinho's name chanted by fans as Fabregas and Costa booed
Rarely has there has been so much anger directed at home team for improving performance in aftermath of managerial sacking

Sam Wallace

Jose Mourinho is gone, but the Cult of Jose lives on, rendered immortal by homemade banners, life-size cut-outs of the man himself and the sheer sense of injustice that so many of the Stamford Bridge faithful brought to their stadium on an extraordinary day in the club’s history.
There are strange days in the life of every football club, even more so at Chelsea in the Roman Abramovich years, but none in recent memory when there has been so much anger directed at the home team for improving their performance in the aftermath of a managerial sacking. Their favourite has gone, and even though this was just their fifth league win of the season, many of the home support just could not bring themselves to forgive, let alone forget.
The “palpable discord” – to borrow a phrase from the Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo – was between supporters and players, on an occasion when there was booing for Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas and nothing but love for the absent Mourinho. He may be gone, but on this occasion just about every chant, was in honour of the club’s sacked manager.

In the private box belonging to Abramovich, the owner and his new interim coach Guus Hiddink took their places alongside Chelsea’s great pride of Africa, the indomitable Didier Drogba. If ever there was a public relations card to be played in the aftermath of the sacking of one of the club’s most popular figures then, short of bringing out Frank Lampard, Drogba was that man.

Chelsea say that is not a prospect just yet, but Abramovich clearly took solace in sitting next to one of the most enduringly popular figures in the club’s history. The Russian has overseen more than £1bn of investment in Chelsea over 12 years, and has pledged another £600m to rebuild Stamford Bridge, but this was a day when even his credit rating among the fans was at an all-time low.
On the pitch, Chelsea were three goals ahead within 48 minutes but that only seemed to enrage the home support more. “Where were you when you were s***?” they asked of Pedro Rodriguez when he scored the second, his first league goal since August. Where, indeed? This was one occasion that was a no-win for the Chelsea team: lose and it was more of the same, win and it was more evidence of Jose’s Great Betrayal.

The temperature was high before the game even started with one homemade banner proclaiming Fabregas, Costa and Eden Hazard as “rats” and another sternly warning the whole squad “You let us down, you let Jose down”. Hazard was absent through his hip injury and escaped the treatment meted out to Costa and Fabregas who will have known they were in for a difficult afternoon when their names were booed when they were announced pre-match.
The second chant for Mourinho had only just begun when Branislav Ivanovic, one of Chelsea’s worst performers this season, headed in Willian’s corner. He appeared to run towards the area of the pitch below Abramovich’s private box to celebrate and the owner himself jumped to his feet.

It is remarkable that even a man who battled his way out of the break-up of the Soviet Union with a decent slice of that nation’s natural resources can get emotional about the bickering over the legacy of a simple football manager. But that was what it was like at Chelsea, with the team playing as if they were trying to prove a point and the home crowd simply getting angry at how much better they were doing.
When Pedro volleyed in a second on 13 minutes the message for the home support was clear: they did not appreciate the improvement coming only after the sacking of their favourite manager. Only the ebullient Willian, whose name was cheered when it was announced before the match, seemed to be exempt from the blame.

One move between Willian, Pedro and Fabregas to cross to the back post for Costa, was as good as anything they have managed this season. Oscar looked determined to prove he was liberated from whatever it was that went before, with a Rabona cross in the first half, a couple of back-heels and a demand to get on the ball at every opportunity.
The third goal was from the penalty spot three minutes after half-time. Costel Pantilimon needlessly tripped Willian as he ran away from goal and Oscar was as keen as ever to take the penalty which he scored easily.

Sunderland had been pretty dreadful, in spite of the five-man defence which Sam Allardyce started with. He abandoned that when Adam Johnson came on for Sebastian Coates after 23 minutes and Fabio Borini was sent on at half-time for Ola Toivonen. The former Chelsea academy boy Borini scored on 53 minutes from close range when Younes Kaboul headed Johnson’s free-kick back across goal.

Afterwards Allardyce was unforgiving of his team’s performance. “We never competed in the areas we should have done,” he said. “The more space we gave them, the more their confidence grew. It was really disappointing for my team to have played and performed as we did in that first half. We needed to change in that first half because we were being annihilated at the time.”

Willian earned a penalty for his team after this challenge from Sunderland's Costel Pantilimon
There was a moment when Chelsea wobbled and if Jermain Defoe had been more precise with a volley on 65 minutes then the game would have been in the balance. Chelsea’s temporary coach Steve Holland substituted Costa on 75 minutes and as he came off he was booed by a lot of the home support. There was applause too but Costa only seemed to hear the former and looked round him with the kind of expression he normally saves for opposition centre-halves.

Fabregas had got similar treatment earlier. As ever, it was split with much applause for both players too but it was notable that on the bench there was a very demonstrative offering of praise and reassurance to the substituted players from the coaching staff.
“There was a lot of pressure on us before the game, but we've brought that on ourselves,” John Terry said. “We needed everyone out there, and everyone was superb. Rightly so, we need to win them [the fans] back. Chelsea is such a big club. We're not used to being here. We'll come out on top sooner rather than later. Rightly, they [the fans] are disappointed at the moment”

Oscar celebrates scoring the third for Chelsea from the spot
Holland pointed out that he is a “club appointment” and therefore has not been dispatched with Mourinho and his Portuguese contingent. The likelihood is that he will be retained by Hiddink for the challenges that lie ahead. The 69-year-old Dutchman will be glad that he has some credit with the supporters from his first caretaker spell in 2009. This could be a rough ride until the end of the season.

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Mail:

Chelsea 3-1 Sunderland: Branislav Ivanovic, Pedro and Oscar on target as Blues turn on the style in front of new boss Guus Hiddink
By Rob Draper for The Mail on Sunday 

To their credit, Chelsea fans are nothing if not consistent. They love Jose Mourinho and no amount of goals would deter them from their devotion. ‘Where you when when we were s***,’ they sang at their own players on Saturday as they went into a 3-0 lead.
They stood up for the Special One and when Cesc Fabregas’ and Diego Costa’s names were announced, they booed roundly. When those players were substituted, they booed again and when Costa walked off they produced another chorus of ‘Jose Mourinho,’ just to make the point clear.
Costa looked as though he were considering offering the entire stadium outside.

Normally a comfortable home win following the sacking of a popular manager stems any rebellion at source. Not at Stamford Bridge.
The debate as to just who was to blame for the most spectacular collapse of a title winning side since Blackburn Rovers twenty-one years ago will not be settled just yet.

What is clear is that Chelsea fans will not lay the blame at the door of Mourinho. And yet the players performed as though released from a burden.
Up in owner’s box, Roman Abramovich looked on. To be fair, he has probably been in tighter spots than this in his life. Some mild fan disapproval won’t cause him too many sleepless nights. Nevertheless, sat alongside Didier Drogba, who in turn was next to interim manager Guus Hiddink, it must have been a disconcerting experience.
‘Jose Mourinho,’ they sang every time Chelsea scored. And the manner in which Sunderland defended initially - their back three was quickly abandoned and turned into an equally shaky back four - they threatened to score a lot. ‘Jose Mourinho,’ they sang again at the end.
If it weren’t for that significant fan discord, it was almost as if we’d never been away, that the start of 2015-16 had been erased and the 2014-15 title winners were back in town. The opening quarter of the game was what we once expected from Chelsea and what we have failed to see almost all of this season.
From the moment Willian’s corner was met by the forceful header of Branislav Ivanovic in the fifth minute, everything else began to slip into gear; on the pitch at least. In the stands goals juts provoked more support for MourinhoWillian, excellent again, was the player most exonerated by the Chelsea fans. 

He received the loudest cheer of the day when announced though Oscar was applauded off warmly. Pedro, too. shone in a way in which he hasn’t sicne his move from Barcelona.
It was his sweeping ball to Ivanovic which opened up the play on 13 minutes and allowed the Serbian to cross. Sunderland couldn’t clear, the ball fell to Pedro, who had raced into the box, and he finished decisively. Cue more cheers for Mourinho.
For Sunderland, the fall guy was Sebastien Coates, taken off after 23 minutes as the back three was abandoned. Much good it did them. Sunderland were particularly abject in that opening half. Costel Pantilimon had to be at his best to deny Oscar on 26 minutes while Willian and Oscar contrived to set up Costa on 36 minutes, who shot over.

The second half continued in the same fashion. Four minutes in Willian ran on to an excellent Pedro ball yet over hit his touch. As such there was no need for Pantilimon to upend him as he did. Nevertheless the penalty was conceded and up stepped Oscar to dispatch it.
As though the game were running a little too smoothly. Chelsea contrived to make it a little more nervy. An Adam Johnson free kick was headed across goal on 54 minutes by Younes Kaboul, Thibaut Courtois fumbled and in shot substitute Fabio Borini to score. When Jerrmain Defoe sliced wide on 65 minutes, a better finish might have tested the all-new Chelsea to see juts how brittle they were.
As it was they ended in control and comfortbale with enough time for Pedro to miss a near open goal on 82 minutes. ‘Don’t Worry/About a Thing,’ they played on the P.A. as the crowd streamed out. It wasn’t the most subtle of messages. But, given a few more performances like this, it might eventually get through.

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Mirror:

Chelsea 3-1 Sunderland: 5 things we learned as angry Stamford Bridge witnesses first win post-Jose Mourinho


By Darren Lewis
 
Ivanovic, Pedro and Oscar strike for the Blues in front of Guus Hiddink, Didier Drogba and Roman Abramovich - but fans jeer Costa and Fabregas on tense afternoon

Branislav Ivanovic and Pedro scored the goals but Chelsea’s fans twisted the knife on a surreal afternoon at Stamford Bridge.
The home fans booed the names of Cesc Fabregas, Diego Costa and Ivanovic - all seen to have either under performed or to have a part in Jose Mourinho’s sacking this week.
When Ivanovic opened the scoring after five minutes, the home fans chanted Mourinho’s name and pointed up at Roman Abramovich, sitting in his box alongside incoming interim coach Guus Hiddink and, tellingly, Blues legend Didier Drogba.
When Pedro added a second, the angry fans chanted: ‘Where were you when we were s***?’ a reference to the poor performances in the League that cost Mourinho his job.
Brazilian winger Willian was cheered while countryman Oscar was impressive and capped a fine display by converting Chelsea’s third five minutes after half time.

Costa, however, missed a string of gilt-edged opportunities before being booed again when he was finally replaced with 14 minutes left by Loic Remy.
Fabio Borini converted on 53 minutes from close range after keeper Thibaut Courtois fumbled into his path.
But Sunderland, second from bottom, face a tough Christmas with games to come against Manchester City and Liverpool.

Here are five things we learned:

1) Jeer leaders turn on Cesc, Costa and Ivanovic
Chelsea’s fans see Cesc Fabregas, Diego Costa and Branislav Ivanovic as the chief culprits in the downfall of Jose Mourinho.
All three had their names booed here when they were read out pre-match. Even when Ivanovic opened the scoring the home fans jeered and pointed angrily up at owner Roman Abramovich.
Eden Hazard, another seen as a key contributor to Mourinho’s exit, must be thanking his lucky stars he wasn’t playing. It will be interesting to see when - or if - he next fancies it this rate.
 
2) Blue would have thought it? Chelsea CAN play
Chelsea can actually turn up on a Saturday afternoon - and score goals.
Before today they had scored twice in five Premier League matches. Here they scored twice in the first 13 minutes.
They also sliced though the Sunderland midfield at times and produced some delightful one-touch football to carve out a succession of chances. Where has this football team been for the last five months?

3) Oscar's found his flicks and tricks again
Oscar appears to relish a new-found freedom since Mourinho’s exit.
He produced a Ramona during the first half and was all tricks and flicks during the first half.
Five minutes into the second period he slotted home Chelsea’s third goal from the spot.

4) No case for the defence
Chelsea are still porous at the back.
At 3-0 up they conceded yet again from a routine set-piece to allow Sunderland a way back into the match.
Substitute Fabio Borini was left unmarked to slot home. Better teams could yet take advantage while their confidence remains fragile.

5) No festive cheer for the Black Cats
This nightmare before Christmas could get even worse for Sunderland.
Chelsea didn’t even have to work that hard to cruise into a 3-0 lead. They - or, to be exact, Costa - blew two fantastic chances during the first half to make the scoreline even more emphatic.
And an even more potent strike force will surely feast on the Black Cats back line.
Sunderland’s next two games? Man City away and Liverpool at home.

Player ratings - by Darren Lewis
COURTOIS 6 - Spilled Kaboul’s header to allow Borini to tap in Sunderland’s consolation.
IVANOVIC 8 - Booed pre-match but hit the first goal here.
TERRY 6 - Given the slip by Borini for Sunderland’s consolation goal.
ZOUMA 6 - Generally decent but he too out-manouvred for Borini’s goal.
AZPILICUETA 6 - A decent enough shift. Even he couldn’t under perform against Sunderland though.
MATIC 7 - Decent in the main against a Sunderland midfield that huffed and puffed.
FABREGAS 6 - Not that bad. But again not as influential as we know he can be.
WILLIAN 8 - Cheered pre-match by the fans and won the pen for the third goal.
OSCAR 9 MOTM - Appears to relish a certain someone’s exit. Back-heels, a Rabona and a goal.
PEDRO 7 - Scored the second but missed another good chance in the second half.
COSTA 4 - Booed by fans, missed three great chances. A tough afternoon.

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