Chelsea Falls to Sunderland, Liverpool Claims Victory Over Crystal Palace

Chelsea faced a surprising 1-0 defeat against struggling Sunderland, while Liverpool bounced back with a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea team entered the Stadium of Light looking to boost their chances of qualifying for the Champions League by finishing in the top four.

But they left humiliated after losing to Sunderland, who celebrated only their second league win this season. Chelsea, now in fifth place, has already lost four times in 10 league matches under Alonso.

The turning point came in the 36th minute when Enzo Le Fee scored a penalty after Brian Brobbey was brought down by Levi Colwill. Alonso was angry that Chelsea was not awarded a foul on Cole Palmer before the penalty was given.

Liverpool, on the other hand, had faced defeats against Arsenal in the Premier League and Fenerbahce in the Champions League prior to their match in south London. This led to questions about Andoni Iraola in his first season as manager at Anfield.

But Alexis Mac Allister put Liverpool ahead at Selhurst Park with a header from Dominik Szoboszlai’s cross in the 40th minute. Florian Wirtz doubled Liverpool's lead with a calm finish from Bradley Barcola’s assist in the 54th minute.

This was Wirtz’s first league goal this season and just his second in all competitions for the inconsistent German player. Alexander Isak sealed the win for fourth-placed Liverpool with a goal from Wirtz’s pass in the 89th minute, ending a two-game losing streak.

This marked Liverpool’s fourth straight away league win this season. For Crystal Palace, Eddie Nketiah’s stoppage-time penalty after Milos Kerkez's foul offered no comfort.

Palace’s manager Pierre Sage, who took over from Oliver Glasner in the off-season, is now in danger of being sacked after his team fell to the bottom of the table with their seventh defeat in 10 league matches.