Sunderland climbed to second place in the Premier League (PL) table, coming from behind to stun Chelsea in a brilliant 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge, ending the Blues’ run of four straight wins in all competitions.
Having made their best eight-game start to a PL season since 1999/2000, Sunderland were dreaming of going second in the table, but those aspirations were dealt a swift blow after just four minutes.
Hitting the Black Cats on the counter-attack, Pedro Neto picked out Alejandro Garnacho, who raced down the left before pulling the trigger to drill a low strike through Robin Roefs’ legs, marking his first goal for Chelsea.
The visitors eventually restored their composure, and after a long throw caused havoc in the Blues’ area, Sunderland were back on level terms as Wilson Isidor reacted first to flick the ball past Robert Sanchez from close range.
The Black Cats were less adventurous in the second half, seemingly content to settle for a point against the Club World Cup champions.
But the home side struggled to create clear-cut chances and over-committed numbers in the search of a winner.
Sunderland expertly exploited the space left in Chelsea’s half as substitute Brian Brobbery latched on to a long ball, held up possession and laid off for Talbi to score a famous winner.
The win means the Black Cats move into second place, two points behind leaders Arsenal having played a game more than the Gunners.
Chelsea, who would have gone second with a victory of their own, slip to seventh behind London rivals Tottenham.
