Sunderland Vs Chelsea: Player Ratings

Vito Mannone - 6

Not at fault for any of the goals, and wasn't really involved much otherwise.

Phil Bardsley - 1

Bardsley's recent resurgence under Gus Poyet came to halt tonight with an utterly inept performance. While you have to take into account he was up against a superb Eden Hazard, he was still hopeless trying to defend against the Belgian. His comically stupid own goal, which can legitimately be described as 'David Vaughan-esque' was the icing on the cake, and his late consolation goal proved he can score from six yards and not a lot else. Needs to be shipped out as soon as possible.

Wes Brown - 7

Wes faced his most difficult game since returning from injury, and the defence as a whole struggled to deal with the threat of Chelsea's attack at times, but without his interceptions the scoreline could've been a lot greater and it would be harsh to place the blame for any of the goals at his door.

John O'Shea - 7

Notched an early second half equaliser, and despite seeing his side concede four goals looked generally decent at the back.

Andrea Dossena - 6

During the first half especially Dossena looked a real threat going forward, but he's also incredibly suspect at the back, particularly during Chelsea's first goal. Still not sure what to make of the former Liverpool man as a footballer.

Ki Sung Yeung - 7

Not quite as influential as he has been in recent games, coming up against a strong Chelsea side, but Ki was still heavily involved in the match, and produced Sunderland's best chance of a late equaliser with a lovely pass to Adam Johnson deep into injury time.

Craig Gardner - 3

Another one that needs to be rid as soon as possible. Poor in possession, and defensively atrocious for Hazard's first goal, it's hard to know exactly what Gardner offers the team at the moment. He and Bardsley are symptomatic of Sunderland's problems over the past few seasons.

Jack Colback - 5

Not Colback's best game in a Sunderland shirt. Lost possession cheaply on a few occasions and could have been sent off for a second booking after a foul on Willian. Had to be substituted before he was shown red.

Emanuele Giaccherini - 5

Tried hard to get himself into the game but lacked a quality final ball. Looks increasingly wasted out on the wing, and Poyet must try and find a way to get him playing at his best.

Fabio Borini - 6

Showed some nice touches and did alright, but didn't get involved enough in the game.

Jozy Altidore - 8

First league goal at last. More on him further down the page.

Seb Larsson - 6

Came on, and gave possession away cheaply a couple of times, but showed typical energy after coming on and produced a couple of good late set-pieces, one of which resulted in a goal.

Adam Johnson - 6

A couple of dangerous crosses after coming on, but should have done better when Ki found him at the death.

Steven Fletcher - 6

Provided an outlet for balls into the box with Sunderland chasing an equaliser.

Man Of The Match: Jozy Altidore

Altidore produced comfortably his best performance in a Sunderland shirt tonight, leading the line superbly. His movement and power exploited John Terry and Gary Cahill's weaknesses (i.e. they're being not very good) and he caused Chelsea problems all night. Most importantly he bagged his first league goal for the Black Cats turning Terry and whacking a shot into the right hand corner. Hopefully it'll be the goal that ignited his Premier League career.

Fear not, more match reaction is coming tomorrow morning, so check back into our Match Stream for that, and anything you missed tonight, HERE!