Xabi Alonso pointed the finger at Chelsea rather than the officials after his side succumbed to a 1-0 loss to Sunderland in the Premier League on Sunday.
Sunderland started the game brightly but Cole Palmer felt he should have had a penalty when he went down under pressure from Jules Ahoka and Luke O’Nien.
Referee Jarred Gillett did not award anything and a VAR review claimed that any contact occurred outside the area.
Gillet did point to the spot when Brian Brobbey went down after getting away from Levi Colwill, who was booked while protesting that the Sunderland forward had hold of his shirt.
Enzo Le Fee swept home the spot-kick after 36 minutes, and that proved to be enough as the Blues struggled to create anything in response.
Chelsea have now lost three of their first five away matches of a Premier League campaign (W2) for the first time since 2015-16 under Jose Mourinho (W1 D1 L3).
Speaking to Sky Sports about the incidents, Alonso said: “I haven’t seen Cole’s actions, but there could be a chance that it could be given.
“The other one, I think it’s an action where he can defend better. It’s our mistake.”
Thank you for your support in Sunderland. See you after the international break. https://t.co/Bbmpu8IaO5
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) November 8, 2026
Colwill was completely outplayed by Brobbey in the first half and Alonso replaced him with Estevao for the second half, moving Moises Caicedo back into the centre of defence.
“I was trying to find solutions. We were missing a bit of speed on the ball, a bit of patience playing against a low block,” Alonso explained.
“We didn’t create enough chances. We didn’t have enough patience or creativity to create chances. That’s why we were not close to scoring.
“We knew it would take a lot to come here and win. It wasn’t that far, but it was about detail and things we can do better.
“It’s Premier League, to be consistent in this block, we are still developing and improve. The feeling is not the best, but we have time to come back and reflect and come back for November and December and progressing.”
This was only Chelsea’s second defeat in their last 18 Premier League games against the team starting the day bottom of the table (W14 D2), also losing 1-0 to Southampton in February 2023.
