Chelsea Suffers Setback with Narrow Loss to Sunderland
Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso expressed his disappointment after his team delivered a disappointing performance in a 1-0 defeat against struggling Sunderland on Sunday. The loss signifies a challenging international break ahead for both Alonso and Chelsea.
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Below is the latest Xabi Alonso reaction from the Stadium of Light.
Xabi Alonso reaction
Speaking to the BBC
On his overall feeling: “The game has been really, really tight, really, really competitive. Not many chances. The goal came after that penalty. Could have done better and after not much happened. It was quite a close game but unlucky that that detail gave them the lead.”
On if anything in particular disappointed Alonso today: “We were not creating enough chances in the final third against the low block. We were not moving the ball quickly, we were not controlling, sustaining the attack there. Those situations you need to be patient, especially at half time we have spoken, there were many interruptions but in those type of games we need to be more patient.”
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On how difficult it was for Chelsea’s defense to contain Brian Brobbey: “You can do it. We’ve spoke and worked and obviously we didn’t do good enough. We worked in the week to control his power and for sure in a few situations we didn’t do well.”
On what he has learned about his team today: “Today was going to be tough. We knew it was going to be a really close game, but especially against this team they give you so much space, much of the ball. We need to be more precise, we need to be more patient. Today we were not that much.”
On his thoughts on the penalty kick Sunderland were awarded: “I haven’t seen it back. Nothing to comment on the referee. It is something that is our fault. We could have done better.”
Speaking to Sky Sports
On the Cole Palmer potential penalty kick incident: “I haven’t seen Cole’s action but there might have been a chance it could have been given. And the other one it is an action that we could defend better and it’s been our mistake.”
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On being frustrated on the sidelines: “I was trying to find solutions. We were missing a little bit of speed on the ball, a little bit of patient. Playing against a low block we didn’t create enough chances. We didn’t have enough patience and creativity to create chances. That is why we were not close to scoring.”
On it being a tough place to come and a bit of a whirlwind with the intensity Sunderland played at: “Absolutely not. We were ready for that. We knew it was going to take a lot to come here to win. It wasn’t that far but it has been about that detail and some things that we can do better.”
On if Chelsea did better in the second half: “We could have done even better. I think that it was not good enough to score the goal that would have been the equalizer… We pushed until the end. It was just one goal difference. Any chance would have been the equalizer. We were looking for that in the deliveries from Estevao, the header, but today it was just not meant to be.”
On what he takes from this block of games: “This is the Premier League. To be consistent in these blocks, we are still developing, still improving and today for sure the feeling is not the best but we will have time to reflect and come back for November and December progressing.”
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Mike Penders reaction
On the penalty for Sunderland: “For me it wasn’t a penalty. I think Levi [Colwill] barely touched him, I think it was the other way round. He grabbed him. I didn’t agree with the decision. We can’t change it but I don’t think it was one,” Penders told Sky Sports.
On the second half being better from Chelsea: “I think the second half they dropped very low. They go with 11 behind the ball. So we had a bit more of the control and we had to push and then I think we got some kind of chances but when they go with 11 behind the ball it is difficult to find the right spaces.”
