Chelsea were out of ideas in 1-2 defeat - this is why they can't win the title

With the District Line suspended at Fulham Broadway for the weekend, Chelsea’s fans faced a lengthy walk to get to the next nearest tube station to Stamford Bridge, but there was plenty for them to discuss while pounding the pavements after this.

Namely, how whenever their team flirt with entering the title conversation, they show exactly why are not yet near it. Nobody has dropped more points from winning positions than Enzo Maresca’s young side this season, and they squandered a chance to move to second in the Premier League here.

However, you hope while picking over the pieces of their own team’s shortcomings, those supporters reserved some praise for the remarkable story that is Sunderland.

They are causing a wonderful commotion, with their supporters the loudest to have visited the Bridge for some time. A breath of fresh air, they left singing: ‘We’re gonna win the league.’

It is the best start to a Premier League season since Hull City in 2008-09, and their sudden success is a big reason why rivals such as West Ham are extra concerned that relegation could be coming for them instead.

Sunderland’s brilliant manager, Regis Le Bris, told us afterwards that their target remains 40 and he will not be altering that aim any time soon. ‘We are not yet halfway to that,’ he said. 'We still need three more points.’

Judging by how tough they can make opponents’ lives, they will get there sooner rather than later. Sunderland have not come up arrogantly thinking they are bigger and better than those they are now competing with. They are willing to humbly accept that others may be stronger than them on paper.

But they play with a smart philosophy, with a team spirit, and with an edge which will give any side a run for their money, as Chelsea, who have thrown plenty of cash in their pursuit of success, discovered here in defeat.

They do the basics and do them well. Sunderland defended deep in a 5-5-0 formation without the ball. But they still showed quality with their players flying forward once they had won possession. They tried to force Chelsea into pushing their play wide as they made the central areas as congested as possible.

Led by an experienced captain in Granit Xhaka, they were dedicated to that cause, so much so that they forced Chelsea into the most crosses they have produced in any Premier League game this campaign. That smacked of a side out of ideas in attack. Indeed this was one of those matches where Maresca clearly missed Cole Palmer's ingenuity as those filling in resembled only robots programmed to go from side to side.

Alejandro Garnacho scored early on, but then hardly created any chances of note from then on. When substituted after 76 minutes, Garnacho wore a grumpy look, walking slowly as Maresca urged him to get a move on. Jamie Gittens came on in his place but did not follow up on the positive performances he had shown in previous weeks. Pedro Neto was similarly subdued. Joao Pedro’s contribution was minimal.

Marc Guiu spent 26 days on loan with Sunderland at the start of this season before being recalled by Chelsea. We wondered if he would celebrate if he scored. He never came close to answering that question, limited to 10 touches all game by his opponents. Tyrique George was given five minutes to try to have an impact as a striker but could not.

Again, we should give Sunderland the credit for silencing Chelsea so.

The Blues ought to have used Garnacho’s opener to kick on, but instead, they allowed Sunderland back into the game via a simple long throw-in. Maresca had shown his players clips of the goal they conceded at Brentford in the build-up to this clash. He knew long throws were a possibility here because his analysts told him so. Then Sunderland scored from their first such opportunity. When new to the Premier League, it is important to seize your chances, and there is nothing wrong with a long launch.

As well as the toothlessness of Chelsea’s attack, Maresca made mistakes which Le Bris capitalised upon. Chelsea’s head coach waited late to make substitutions and one of them in the 76th minute was to remove one defender for another – Josh Acheampong for Tosin Adarabioyo. Only he knows why.

Acheampong had been the centre back stopping Sunderland’s counter-attacks up until then. In stoppage time, Lutsharel Geertruida launched the ball long from his own half. Brian Brobbey held it up, outmuscled Adarabioyo, and waited for Chemsdine Talbi to join him.

Le Bris brought on Brobbey because of his ability to hold up the ball, and Talbi for his energy. Then those two substitutes combined for the winner. Any Chelsea claims that Geertruida might have been interfering from an offside position were in vain.

Maresca’s day was summed up best with the last kick of the game. They had a corner; a chance to equalise from a set-piece. Estevao took it, but sent the ball straight into the side-netting. Not even their Brazilian boy wonder was on his game this time.

Speaking afterwards on Sunderland’s dream start to life in the Premier League, Le Bris said: ‘What we can control is our way of playing, the energy we put on the pitch, the togetherness, the game plan. We fight for every game.’

Indeed, Sunderland are not here to go back down with a whimper like others in their position have done. They are admirably and unapologetically shaking up the Premier League for the better.