Sunderland 3-4 Chelsea - Statistical Analysis

Eden Hazard (R)

It might not have been their most convincing performance of the season (at least not defensively), but Jose Mourinho’s men consolidated their second-place in the Premier League ladder with a stirring victory over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

The Blues were forced to come from behind after American Jozy Altidore netted his first goal of the season, and were given a few nervy moments when the Black Cats produced two goals from set-pieces throughout the second half, but a Man of the match performance was enough to see the Londoners over the line and extend their two-game winning streak to three.

Key Stats

As was largely expected, Chelsea dominated in most attacking departments of the match, finishing with more shots in total and on target than their opponents. Their 54% possession wasn’t quite as high as many might have thought it would be, though part of this was perhaps due to the fact that Sunderland did an excellent job of forcing rash passes from their opponents and encouraging turnovers. The Black Cat’s strong tackle success rate of 88% was also key in eliminating much of the Blues’ threat in possession.

Man of the Match

With two goals and an assist, it’s seemingly obvious that Eden Hazard was awarded the Man of the Match award, but that doesn’t do justice in describing how prolific he was on the left flank.

The Belgian terrorized Sunderland all night with his individual Action Areas map showing over 75% of night was spent in the Black Cats’ half and also registered an incredible 12 completed take ons from 15 attempts.

Just to let it sink in some more: his total Squawka Performance Score of 176 for this game is higher than any other Chelsea player this season. In fact, Hazard’s score was the second-highest Performance Score across all top five European divisions this season.

Chelsea’s Best Forwards, 2013/14 Season

Performance Score

A back-and-forth match was shown in the Performance Score early on as Sunderland briefly took the lead. Goals to Frank Lampard and then Hazard quickly put the Blues back in front though, and they quickly extended their dominance after half-time. John O’Shea’s scrappy goal to lock the match up at 2-2 didn’t make too much of an intent, with the Blues always in control and able to extend such dominance right throughout the match. It’s interesting to note that despite the Black Cats coming so close to leveling the match in the final moments, they still finished this fixture close to 400 points in arrears of their opponents.

Key Observations

While their possession and total shots might not have been as high as we’ve seen this season, there was absolutely no doubt that Chelsea dominated this fixture from the opening whistle. Their team heat map shows just how potent they were right across the field, with the Blues proving to have just as much influence inside Sunderland’s half as they did their own.

Still, Sunderland managed to get into several good attacking positions throughout the night, and may have walked away with more to show from their efforts if their final pass was just a little bit better. They offered little potency moving the ball inside the final third, with their crossing from out wide particularly poor; just two of their attempted crosses found the mark.

Overshadowed by the brilliance of Hazard, it’s also worth noting the superb role that Ramires played in setting up the platform for Chelsea to attack. The midfielder was superb in attack (completing 56 of 64 passes and four of his five attempted take ons) but was also a rock in defense, winning all three of his tackles, three interceptions, two headed duels and five clearances. No other Chelsea midfielder made more defensive actions on the night.

Chelsea Midfielders Total Defensive Actions vs. Sunderland