Morgan Rogers and Chelsea had a game to forget on Sunday after their defeat to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

The Blues were looking to build on their 2-0 win against Manchester United but failed to do that after losing 1-0 to Sunderland. It was a pretty even game that was separated by the penalty Levi Colwill gave away.

Morgan Rogers’ attempt to fire up Chelsea fails

Colwill is one of the leaders in the Chelsea dressing room, and Rogers also displayed some leadership skills before kick-off. However, it did not result in much.

As the Chelsea team did their pre-game huddle, Rogers was seen giving quite a passionate team talk to get them fired up. Once the match started, though, the only team who looked up for the occasion was Sunderland.

They are now on a run of three straight wins against Chelsea after beating the Blues home and away last season. It is another disappointing result for Alonso, but there were a couple of positives to take away if you are an optimist.

Interestingly, Moises Caicedo looked very comfortable in central defence. He replaced Colwill in the left centre-back position in the second half and could be an option there in an emergency situation based on that showing.

He did a much better job handling Brobbey than his teammate. Of course, Caicedo is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League. You want him playing in the middle of the park.

How Chelsea performed in their duels at the Stadium of Light

Despite Rogers’ attempts to get Colwill, Caicedo and the rest of the Chelsea team fired up, Alonso’s men struggled to compete at times. Sunderland won more ground duels than them on the day.

According to Sofascore, Sunderland won 37 out of 71, while Chelsea won the other 34. Yes, it was close, but given the form Sunderland are in, Alonso’s side should have gone to the Stadium of Light and bullied the hosts. Instead, it was the other way round, largely thanks to Brobbey.

Chelsea will not be looking forward to going back there again. For whatever reason, Sunderland and their fans just seem to go up another gear when the Blues are in town.