Chelsea player ratings vs Sunderland: 4/10 duo disappoint as Blues rocked by late winner

Chelsea squandered a one-goal lead and suffered their third Premier League defeat of the season at home to Sunderland. Enzo Maresca made eight changes to the squad that thrashed Ajax in midweek, but his players quickly found their rhythm at Stamford Bridge. Just four minutes into the game, Pedro Neto supplied Alejandro Garnacho with a superb through ball, which the Argentine promptly dispatched past Robin Roefs with his weaker left foot.

However, Sunderland equalised later in the first half when Wilson Isidor netted from close range following a long throw-in that caused chaos for the hosts. Chelsea pressed for a winner in the second half but struggled to create any clear-cut opportunities. Instead, it was the visitors who clinched the three points with a last-minute winner. Chemsdine Talbi fired into the bottom corner, sending the away fans into raptures at Stamford Bridge.

Here, Express Sport rates the Chelsea players out of 10 based on their performance this afternoon...

Robert Sanchez - 6

Back in the team after being rested in midweek. Couldn't do much about either goal.

Reece James - 5

One of the eight changes Maresca made. Handled the physical battles well.

Would have liked to have had more of an impact in attack.

Josh Acheampong - 6

In his third consecutive league start, he made a brilliant early sliding tackle to thwart Isidor. He won the initial header from the long throw that led to the goal, but it seemed to knock him back, causing him to play everyone onside.

Despite this, he passed well and frequently drove into midfield with the ball, making several crucial sliding tackles.

Trevoh Chalobah - 5

He had a poor moment at the beginning of the second half when he took too long against Enzo Le Fee, resulting in a dangerous free-kick for Sunderland. Aside from that, the defender won a few headers.

Marc Cucurella - 5

After resting on Wednesday, he returned to the team. He got stuck in within the first minute with a challenge on Bertrand Traore and similarly, he made an excellent sliding tackle that got the Stamford Bridge crowd on their feet.

He found himself in some threatening positions in the final third but couldn't make much of an impact.

Moises Caicedo - 7

After a stint in defence against Ajax, Caicedo was back in the midfield today. He was omnipresent.

On a couple of occasions, Sunderland dallied on the ball and Caicedo was there, as always, to regain possession for the Blues.

Enzo Fernandez - 6

Fernandez's passing was on point, delivering a superb pass to Marc Cucurella at the 20-minute mark that could have easily resulted in a goal, had the left-back managed to control the ball properly. However, he wasn't able to find his usual goal-scoring positions, or at least he wasn't found when he did.

Pedro Neto - 6

Neto stepped in for Estevao Willian. He delivered a fine pass to set Garnacho up for the game's first goal.

Initially, he seemed to have the upper hand over Reinildo, but the Sunderland wing-back soon got the measure of him. Despite having a good counter-attacking opportunity early in the second half, he squandered it with a poor pass to Garnacho and struggled in the second half.

Joao Pedro - 4

Returning to the No. 10 role, one might have expected a resurgence from Joao Pedro.

However, the Brazilian seemed out of sorts this afternoon. His decision-making was questionable at times, and he struggled to make a significant impact on Chelsea's attack.

Alejandro Garnacho - 7

Garnacho made his third consecutive Premier League start and justified his selection with a fine finish in front of the Shed End. Recognising his strong performance, Chelsea tried to get the ball to him against Nordi Mukiele.

He found himself in some dangerous positions and may be disappointed that he couldn't make a greater impact on the attack.

Marc Guiu - 4

Making his first league start for the Blues against a club he was loaned to earlier in the season, Guiu found himself dominated at times by Dan Ballard, a former team-mate. The Spaniard struggled to make an impact.

Estevao Willian (substituted for Garnacho 58') - 6

Willian had an immediate opportunity to score, but his shot was well blocked. It seemed as though Chelsea couldn't get the ball to him often enough for him to make a significant difference.

Jamie Gittens (substituted for Guiu 76') - N/A

Gittens didn't have enough time on the pitch to make the desired impact.

Tosin Adarabioyo (substituted for Acheampong 76') - N/A

Adarabioyo's substitution was somewhat surprising. Perhaps it was to protect Acheampong, who had been involved in several clashes during the second half.

Tyrique George (substituted for Neto 85') - N/A

George came on too late to make an impact.

Andrey Santos (substituted for Joao Pedro 85') - N/A

The same applies to Santos.