Chelsea were beaten 2-1 at home by Sunderland on Saturday, with Paul Merson left unimpressed by the performance of one of the Blues’ star players
Paul Merson gave his verdict as Chelsea lost to Sunderland(Image: Sky Sports)
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson expressed his frustration with Marc Guiu after Chelsea’s home defeat to Sunderland on Saturday. The Spanish forward was brought back to Stamford Bridge by Enzo Maresca following Liam Delap’s injury in August, having spent a brief spell on loan at Sunderland, but failed to make any meaningful contribution against the Black Cats.
Chelsea’s fortunes appeared bright when Alejandro Garnacho put them ahead early on, but Wilson Isidor’s leveller meant it was anyone’s game in the closing stages. Guiu and his colleagues failed to establish control after the interval, and it was the away side who clinched victory after Chemsdine Talbi combined with fellow substitute Brian Brobbey before finding the net.
“Well impressed with Sunderland today, I wasn’t with Chelsea,” Merson said on Sky Sports. “I thought they’d struggle. They need Delap back badly, they need a focal point.
“Guiu played up front and I think he touched the ball nine, 10 times. You can’t do that in a team that are supposed to be dominating the ball.
“Chelsea ran out of ideas. They had winger after winger but half of them don’t go past anyone. Joao Pedro looked lost as a No.10. They struggled and were pretty poor.”
Liam Delap could replace Guiu when he returns from injury(Image: PA)
Sunderland’s victory proved sufficient to elevate them to second place in the Premier League standings with 17 points. However, they risk dropping a couple of places before the end of weekend, with several members of the chasing pack in action on Sunday. Chelsea find themselves languishing in eighth position following their setback and things could get even worse for them before the weekend concludes.
Crystal Palace and Aston Villa are both capable of leapfrogging Maresca’s men with victories, whilst Everton have the opportunity to match the Blues on points should they get the better of Tottenham in Sunday’s later game.
Chelsea return to action on Wednesday, taking on Wolves in the Carabao Cup. Delap could make his comeback for that fixture after spending the best part of two months on the sidelines with a hamstring problem. Chelsea accumulated seven points in the three league matches he featured in, and have the same number across the six for which he has been absent.
Chemsdine Talbi celebrating Sunderland’s winner at Chelsea(Image: Sunderland AFC via Getty Images)
Blues manager Maresca expressed his disappointment with his side’s inability to capitalise on their promising opening against Sunderland, pulling no punches with his post-match comments. “I think we were not good enough in general. We know that in the moment you drop a little bit you can lose points against any team in the Premier League. It is so difficult. Overall we were not good enough,” the Italian reflected.
“We started well with the goal. Even with that the feeling was we were losing in terms of physicality and second balls. Against this type of team it’s always dangerous.
“It’s always difficult, they bring seven, eight players inside the box. We tried to prepare that but it can happen. We were not good enough. When you are not good enough you can drop points against anyone.”
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