Sunderland vs. Chelsea: Winners and Losers from Premier League
Sunderland took a massive step toward Premier League survival on Saturday as they came from behind to beat Chelsea 3-2 at the Stadium of Light.
Chelsea went ahead on two occasions through Diego Costa and Nemanja Matic, with a stunning Wahbi Khazri goal for Sunderland in between, but the Blues were unable to finish off the contest on the road.
The Black Cats leveled the match at 2-2 in the 67th minute through a blistering attempt sent in by Fabio Borini from the top of the penalty area. Three minutes later, Jermain Defoe sent the home fans into a thunderous roar with the game-winner.
Sunderland moved out of the bottom three with the win, and they have a chance to clinch survival with a win over Everton on Wednesday.
Here's a look at our winners and losers from Sunderland's dramatic win over Chelsea.
Winner: Jermain Defoe
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Jermain Defoe may have kept Sunderland in the Premier League with his 70th-minute winner at the Stadium of Light.
The English forward netted the Black Cats' second strike in quick succession in the second half to move his side into the lead and out of the bottom three.
The goal was the first at home for the 33-year-old since his brace against Aston Villa on January 2, with his last eight tallies before Saturday coming on the road.
Thanks to Defoe's game-winner and Newcastle United's draw against Villa, the Black Cats put themselves in perfect position to stay up with a game in hand to play on Wednesday against Everton.
Loser: Baba Rahman
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Baba Rahman was inserted into the match to make an immediate impact.
The 21-year-old left-back played a key role in the deciding goal, but he was on the wrong end of the critical strike.
In the buildup to Defoe's tally, DeAndre Yedlin breezed past Rahman to send a cross in the direction of Defoe on the left side of the penalty area.
The poor defending from Rahman put the Blues in a hole they couldn't recover from. Chelsea were up 1-0 and 2-1 before falling to the hosts at the Stadium of Light.
Winner: Vito Mannone
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Vito Mannone certainly didn't have the best 90 minutes of his season on Saturday, but he came up with a few key denials in the second half to keep Sunderland in the match.
Mannone's top stops came in the 62nd and 74th minutes as he kept out shots from Diego Costa and Willian. The 28-year-old saved Costa's attempt from open space in the 62nd minute, and 12 minutes later, he jumped in the middle of the goal to tap Willian's free-kick over the bar.
As the match crept closer to the final whistle, Mannone dove near the left post and caught the final Chelsea cross. After the Sunderland goalkeeper retrieved the final dangerous ball, the crowd at the Stadium of Light breathed a sigh of relief.
Loser: Willian
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The Chelsea attack looked like it was missing a piece for the majority of Saturday's contest.
Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa all produced impressive moments in the final third, but Willian left the Chelsea fans wanting more from his performance.
The 27-year-old midfielder was the least active member of Chelsea's attacking force, and he only showed up when the Blues earned free-kicks from dangerous areas.
Since Chelsea were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League, Willian has one goal and one assist in six matches.
Winner/Loser: Diego Costa
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Costa began the match in fine form as he opened the scoring for the Blues in the 14th minute, but he could've done better with his opportunities in the second half.
The 27-year-old struck for the first tally of the five-goal affair from a tight angle on the left side of the box for his first league goal since March 1.
However, the powerful forward failed to finish off the game for the visitors in the 62nd minute, when he took too much time on the ball before sending a shot at Mannone. Had he finished from open space, Costa would've taken all the energy out of the Stadium of Light and Chelsea could've killed off the match.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
All statistics obtained from WhoScored.com.
