Chelsea 1 - 0 Sunderland: A Narrow Escape

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The new year continues to smile down on Villas-Boas as Chelsea grabbed their third victory in 2012 by beating an on-form Sunderland side 1-0. Chelsea dominated most of the game but Sunderland had their chances, especially towards the end of the game.


Formations and Game Flow

Chelsea lined up in their usual 4-3-3 with Torres as the main striker. With Sturridge still not totally match ready, Ramires put his winger hat on yet again. Lampard, Meireles and Romeu made up Chelsea's inverted midfield triangle.

Martin O'Neill sent out a familiar 4-4-1-1. Bendtner led the attack with Sessegnon close by for support. Cattermole and Vaughan formed a hard-working midfield anchor. The team was set out to defend and find fast breaks through Sessegnon who had a free role.

Chelsea scored the game winning goal in the first half but the performance was less than convincing. It was the same story of slow build up that mostly ended up with Bosingwa or Cole putting harmless high crosses into the box. But one of the high crosses, provided by Mata, was smashed against the crossbar via an extravagant Torres scissor-kick finally fell for Lampard to tap in from close range. 

Despite having a defensive set up, Sunderland had their chances, especially from counter attack. Chelsea were more comfortable for the majority of the second half but some attacking changes from O’Neill in the final 15 minutes made for a nervy ending for the home side. Sunderland had enough chances late on to at least get a draw but poor finishing let them down. 

Mata’s Migration

Picture 1. Mata on the Right

It is no secret that Mata has somewhat of a free role in Chelsea’s 4-3-3. Although he is listed on the left wing when the line up comes out, he rarely stays there, often moving centrally to get more involved with the build-up play and create chances. But in this game, the Spaniard’s migration from his left wing role went to another level.

With or without the ball, Mata moved across the pitch to the right side to join up with Ramires and Meireles to overload the left side of Sunderland’s defense, often forming a rectangle with Torres as shown in Picture 1. This is quite possibly Villas-Boas’s game plan to exploit the defensive weakness of Richardson. And it worked: the Chelsea goal came from Mata moving with the ball from the left to right, then acting as a right winger to cross the ball to Torres. The same tactical approach was applied in the second half until Malouda came on as a sub for Mata.

Chart 1. Dribbles Made by Chelsea and Sunderland

However, every tactical move has its drawback. The absence of Mata from the left wing means that Cole is left with very little defensive cover. A predator like Sessegnon sniffed that weakness and exploited as best he could. Almost every chance created by Sunderland in the first 60 minutes of the game came from their right side with Sessegnon, Larsson and Bardsley very much involved in the attacking moves. The amount of successful dribbles Sunderland had on their right flank stand as evidence of their attacking route (see Chart 1).

All four players in Chelsea defense were forced into errors because of Sunderland’s threat from the right. I think Cole, individually, had a bad game but it was made worse by the fact that there was no one doing the defensive work in front of him. Even Lampard, who is usually a defensively responsible player, wasn’t able to track back to help. It is no surprise then that the left side of Chelsea’s defense got better after Essien came on for Lampard and finally, Malouda replaced Mata. In the last 20 minutes of the game, Sunderland made 5 crosses from the left, putting more pressure on Bosingwa and Meireles, and only two from the right.

Torres’s Forward Role

Chart 2. Shots Taken by Torres against Sunderland (left) and against Wolves (right)

In recent games, Torres, despite starting as a central striker, has been playing almost like a playmaker: his movements and passing created chances for his teammates. Against Sunderland, Torres played more like a forward. Sure, he did drift off to the wide position every now and then but he played a more central role. This translates into him having more attempts on goal -- including that outrageous scissor kick which should have been a goal rather than an assist.

As shown in Chart 2, Torres took more shots against Sunderland than he did against Wolves. Furthermore, more of his shots against Sunderland came from inside the box where he is most dangerous. If this is a trend that will continue into the next games, I think our number 9 will find the back of the net soon.

Frantic Finish


I am sure Villas-Boas is delighted with the win but he would be disappointed with the way the team played in the closing minutes. With one goal up, Sunderland had to come out and attack. And they did. Chelsea's job at that point in time was to defend well and catch them on the break -- a total role reversal. I don't think Chelsea did either of them well enough.

The defending was nervy. It is even worthwhile to point out who made the mistakes in the back because every defender did. I think this is more of a psychological issue than a tactical one. We have not perform well at home this season and we know that 1-0 is not a comfortable lead. Sunderland could easily have equalized, worse win the game, if it wasn't for some poor finishing.

Even when we could kick the ball out of the defense, our counter attacks were ruined by misplaced passes and poor decision-making. There is a lack of composure in trying to get something out of the breaks. Defense, midfield and attack all played their role in making it difficult for the team in the dying minutes. Hopefully this win will put some confidence in the team even when we only have a narrow lead.

Carefree, wherever you may be...