Chelsea’s four-match winning run ended in painful fashion at Stamford Bridge as Sunderland snatched a 2-1 victory with a stoppage-time winner. Chemsdine Talbi stroked home in the 93rd minute after Brian Brobbey held the ball up and teed up the Moroccan on the edge of the area, leaving Robert Sánchez beaten.

Alejandro Garnacho had put Chelsea ahead inside four minutes, squeezing a finish past Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs after a swift counter. The lead lasted only until the first half when Wilson Isidor converted amid chaos from a long throw and a deflected effort by Bertrand Traoré. That equaliser altered the tone of the match and set up a frantic finale.

The result leaves Chelsea down in seventh, while Sunderland leapfrogged to second in the table. Chelsea dominated possession and passing statistics but could not convert control into a decisive second goal. The match statistics show Chelsea with 71% possession to Sunderland’s 29%, expected goals of 0.55 to 0.92, and four shots on target to Sunderland’s three.

Individual performances were mixed. Robert Sánchez was judged 6.1, described as uncertain with the ball at his feet but relatively assured with his hands. Reece James produced the most creativity on the right and earned 7.5. Trevoh Chalobah struggled at times and was rated 6.6, while Josh Acheampong received 7.1 for several vital interventions. Marc Cucurella (6.7) pushed high from left-back. In midfield Enzo Fernández was 7.1 and Moisés Caicedo 6.6. Pedro Neto (7.4) and Alejandro Garnacho (7.2) provided the primary attacking impetus, João Pedro was 6.2 and Marc Guiu was 5.9.

Estêvão (58’) was 6.2, Jamie Gittens (76’) 6.2 and Tosin Adarabioyo (76’) 6.4. Andrey Santos and Tyrique George were introduced later, with no rating given. Subs not used included Filip Jörgensen, Jorrel Hato, Wesley Fofana and Roméo Lavia.

Chelsea created big chances and controlled the ball, but Sunderland’s resilience and a late counter finished the day for the Blues.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed striker Liam Delap is back in training and could return to competitive action before the end of the month. Maresca made clear that Saturday’s visit from Sunderland remains too soon, but he suggested Wednesday’s Carabao Cup fourth-round meeting with Wolverhampton Wanderers could be a sensible target.

“Liam took part in the session yesterday with the team for the first time, so he’s not going to be available for tomorrow’s game, but probably for the next match,” Maresca explained. “He can be available.”

Delap’s imminent comeback would arrive at an important moment. Chelsea have struggled in front of goal in his absence, and João Pedro, another summer signing, has been required to tweak his role to help cover for the Englishman. That adjustment has coincided with a drop in his output.

Pedro should be well rested for Saturday after being forced to sit out the 5–1 win over Ajax through suspension. Chelsea had no trouble finding the net against the Dutch visitors, and one of the game’s standout moments came when captain Enzo Fernández passed to Estêvão so the young Brazilian could take the penalty his quick feet had won. Estêvão converted from 12 yards.

“It’s very, very good,” Maresca reflected. “I told the players after the game that for sure we were very happy about the winning, about the three points against Ajax.

“But the main thing about that game was Enzo, when he gave the ball to Estêvão we got to show how is the team in this moment, how they are all together in terms of togetherness, in terms of effort and this is what we need if we want to try to do something important.”

With Delap training again, Maresca has options to restore a striker who could relieve pressure on attacking teammates and provide fresh competition as Chelsea look to maintain momentum in cup and league fixtures.

Chelsea produced a dominant 5–1 victory over Ajax at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League, selecting an exceptionally young side and turning the tie into a showcase for its emerging talent. The starting XI had an average age of 22 years, 163 days, making it the second youngest line-up fielded by an English club in the competition. Arsenal still hold the record with a side from 2009 aged 21 years, 151 days.

At 21, the Belgian midfielder was a relative veteran of the side, while Tosin Adarabioyo, 27, was the oldest starter. Marc Guiu, making his first start of the season after a loan at Sunderland was cancelled, opened the scoring. Estêvão converted a penalty in first-half stoppage time, and Tyrique George came off the bench at half-time to finish Chelsea’s fifth soon after his introduction.

The goals brought immediate individual milestones. At the time of his strike, 19-year-old Guiu became Chelsea’s youngest ever goalscorer in a Champions League fixture, a record he held for 32 minutes before 18-year-old Estêvão lowered it. George, also 19 and marginally younger than Guiu, began the night by entering the club’s history and finished it third on that list. With three different teenagers on the scoresheet, Chelsea became the first club in the Champions League era to register goals from three separate teenagers in the same match.

Maresca, who also introduced 17-year-old Reggie Walsh and 19-year-old Josh Acheampong from the bench, reacted to the result and the performance. “I’m very proud,” Maresca said. “It’s a special night for the club, for the young players. I think Guiu already scored for Chelsea five or six goals last year in the Conference League, Ty already scored also in the Premier League and Estêvão is exactly the same. It was a great night, especially for these young players and for the club.”

On the selection policy, Maresca added: “It’s the strategy of the club. We have so many young players. I think already last season we were the youngest squad in the history of the Premier League, so this season we continue in the same way.” With Lavia the only player retained from the side that began against Forest on Saturday, the manager stressed the need for rotation. “We changed tonight from the Forest game 10 players. It’s not easy from the Premier League to the Champions League to change so many players, but we need to do that, otherwise they are going to struggle because of many games,” the manager explained.