You can definitely say that Xabi Alonso was not happy with how Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana and the rest of Chelsea’s backline defended against Sunderland’s Brian Brobbey on Sunday.

Brobbey inspired Sunderland to a 1-0 victory over Chelsea at the Stadium of Light after winning a penalty for the home side. The 24-year-old was awarded the penalty after being brought down by Colwill in the box.

Xabi Alonso tells Levi Colwill and Wesley Fofana that Brian Brobbey isn’t unstoppable

Despite his strength and ability to hold up the ball, Alonso is rejecting any kind of idea that Brobbey is unstoppable. The Chelsea manager is adamant that Brobbey could have been nullified had his side defended better and has said as much.

Discussing Brobbey’s battle against Colwill and Fofana, he told the Daily Mail’s Kieran Gill and other reporters after the game: “He is not unstoppable. He is stoppable but only when you defend better than we did.”

Against Colwill, Brobbey did look unstoppable. However, Fofana did stand strong against the Dutchman, especially in the second half.

According to Sofascore, Fofana actually won seven out of eight aerial duels. If Brobbey did manage to get the better of Fofana on every occasion, that stat would look a lot different.

Fofana has received a lot of criticism this season, which has been warranted. But his performance at the Stadium of Light was not his worst. On this occasion, Colwill is the one who should be criticised.

Sunderland’s centre-halves, on the other hand, had a much easier time dealing with Chelsea’s centre-forward. With Joao Pedro still out injured, Alonso started Pedro Neto up front once again.

Neto, though, was completely ineffective. Chelsea supporters will be looking forward to welcoming Pedro back after the international break. In his absence, bar the 2-0 win over Manchester United, the Blues have really struggled.