Xabi Alonso: Chelsea did not deserve more than a point against Sunderland

Xabi Alonso said Chelsea had not done enough to deserve a win, and perhaps did not deserve more than a point, after losing to Sunderland and dropping out of the Premier League’s top four before the international break.

Alonso felt his team lacked patience, quality and creativity in the final third, and did not create enough chances despite having more possession after the break. He added that it was a close game and that the first goal had a major impact, but rejected the suggestion that Chelsea had been bullied, saying the team could have defended the move better and made more effective use of its attacking chances.

On the two penalty incidents, Alonso explained that he had not seen the Cole Palmer incident, but had been told it could have been given. He criticised his team’s defending in the other incident, saying they had worked on it in training and could have avoided it. He also said Levi Colwill was substituted at half-time to avoid taking a risk, as the player had been on a yellow card.

Alonso confirmed that Chelsea are missing their injured players, including João Pedro, and said the team would use the time to get them back and prepare for the next match.