Xabi Alonso accepts Chelsea’s Sunderland defeat was down to their own shortcomings

Xabi Alonso refused to blame the officials after Chelsea lost 1-0 to Sunderland in the Premier League on 21 November 2026, admitting his team fell below the required standard in both defence and attack.

Sunderland scored the winning goal from the penalty spot after referee judged that Levi Colwill had brought down Brian Brobbey. The decision provoked debate, with Chelsea goalkeeper Mike Penders questioning whether there had been sufficient contact.

“For me, it wasn’t a penalty,” Penders told Sky Sports. “He barely touched him, and I think it was the other way around – he was the one holding him.”

Alonso, however, said he had no criticism of the referee when asked about the incident by the BBC, in comments published by the Metro.

“I haven’t watched the incident again. I have nothing to say about the referee,” he said. “It was a mistake on our part, and we could have performed better.”

The Chelsea manager also believed Colwill should have handled the challenge more effectively.

“I think it was a situation in which he could have defended better. It is our mistake,” Alonso added.

Brobbey’s contribution impressed Alonso throughout the match, rather than simply because the striker won the penalty. The Chelsea manager felt his defenders had struggled to contain the Netherlands international’s physical strength.

“From attacks that came from almost nothing, he managed to create two chances and won the penalty,” Alonso said. “But we were prepared for that and tried to deal with him. We could have done better.”

“He is not a player who cannot be stopped. He can be stopped, but that requires you to defend better than we did today.”

The former Real Madrid manager was equally dissatisfied with Chelsea’s attacking display. He suggested the visitors had done little to merit victory and perhaps did not deserve more than a share of the points.

“I think we probably did not deserve more than one point,” Alonso said. “Honestly, not much happened. We did not do enough to deserve to win.”

Chelsea faced a Sunderland side defending in a deep, compact shape, but Alonso said his team lacked the patience and quality needed to break it down.

“We lacked some patience, quality and creativity in the final third to create more chances,” he said. “We needed to be more consistent in moving the ball from one side to the other, but we did not do that enough.”

When it was suggested Sunderland had used a physical advantage to impose themselves on Chelsea, Alonso rejected that assessment.

“We were not physically dominated,” he replied. “There were situations in which we could have defended better, and others where we could have made better use of the ball in attack.”