Chelsea were totally toothless against Sunderland yesterday – but still went without a striker until deep into the second half.

If you enjoy Talk Chelsea coverage and want to see more of it, add us as a preferred source on Google to make us a favourite and see more of our content.

Kieran Gill’s piece for the Daily Mail today boils down to a single question which many Chelsea fans have been wrestling with since the defeat to Sunderland yesterday.

“Why did Chelsea sign Welbeck if not to play when Joao Pedro is injured?”

The 35 year old striker came in as a backup to the Brazilian, but in the three league games since JP got injured, Welback has zero starts. Xabi Alonso has opted for a false 9 in all of those games.

Chelsea desperately need a fit Emegha leading the line

We can see Alonso’s argument – Welbeck was signed to be Joao Pedro’s backup in cup games and as a sub when an extra body was needed in attack. Not in this sort of match. His lack of movement means that he simply doesn’t offer the same dynamic outlet that the Brazilian does.

All we can hope is that Emmanuel Emegha, who finally got back on the pitch for us later in the game, is considered a proper alternative to JP after the international break

In other news…

Mike Penders tried to be positive after the game, and made some claims about Chelsea’s progress this season that we’re not really sure we agree with.

The midfield was also solid in the game, but they were let down by more soft defending behind them and more blunt attacking ahead of them.

Joao Pedro’s absence is absolutely killing Chelsea right now, and the plain win/loss stats are showing that more starkly than anything.