Golaso Fantastico! :D

Sometimes, the scoreline doesn’t suggest what actually happened in the match. Today was one such day where Chelsea, who thoroughly dominated the game came out as eventual winners in a 2-1 victory over Sunderland. Two fantastic goals from Terry and Sturridge ensured 3 handsomely deserved points for the Blues.

Chelsea started with Torres on the bench and Anelka starting in place of him in what looked like a 4-3-3 formation. The first 10 minutes were rather quiet as Chelsea dominated possession, but failed to create any real chances. Mata, who made his first start in Chelsea colours, looked in top form and managed to get into the box a couple of times, but none resulted in any goals.

In the 17^th minute, Juan Mata hit the post through a free kick just outside the box after Nicholas Anelka was brought down and the ball deflected off the post only to fall to Sturridge who made a crisp cross to John Terry who finished sublimely from a very tight angle. Chelsea got the lead they deserved.

Things looked a little off pace in the latter stages of the first half, Chelsea were dominating thoroughly and Sunderland were showing no signs of progress. Cech had a quiet half but was forced to make his first save in the 44^th minute when Sessegnon shot from a tight angle just outside the 6 yard box. That didn’t yield any result and Chelsea went 1-0 ahead at the break.

Chelsea took off from where they left in the 2^nd half as they completely dominated possession and were finally rewarded with a goal when Danny Sturridge, who was found by debutant Raul Meireles, scored through a clever back heel thus putting the game beyond any doubt.

Sturridge soon made way for Florent Malouda who made an instant impact when he shot directly on target after a neat pass from Lampard.

Bendtner had a half chance when he was within the 6 yard box and his resulting shot was bravely blocked by Ivanovic. While that was one chance that went begging, a missed header from Wickham that went just over the bar added to Sunderland’s misery.

Things remained the same until the 90^th minute, and just when Andre Villas Boas looked for a second clean sheet this season, Sunderland got a goal from nowhere in the 91^st minute when Ji Dong Wong slided the ball into the net. A nervy 2-3 minutes of stoppage time ensued but some brave defending in the end by John Terry ensured that Chelsea went home with 3 points in the bag.