:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49550931/GettyImages-529206854.0.jpg)
What The Gaffer Said
I have no idea what Sam Allardyce said to his players at half time, but it must have been the best half-time bollocking he's ever given. Every single bloke in a red and white shirt gave their all to make sure we won that game, and the Sunderland manager must be so proud of his players for managing to achieve that kind of result at this stage of the season.
I’m absolutely shattered after that one. I’m so pleased we got the result as it would have been such a shame to have given such a fantastic fight back away.
We slipped up twice after giving two sloppy goals away, but then we had that stunning goal from Wahbi [Khazri] which thrilled everybody! It had the fans on their feet.
It was a sucker punch at half time but our recovery was magnificent; the players didn’t feel sorry for themselves and they came out in the second half and showed a real fighting spirit.
Having to come back twice and get the win really shows the character we’ve got in this team, it’s one hell of a result against one of the Premier League’s big boys.
It’s a great boost and it has put us in a great position, with our destiny back in our own hands.
They were three very good goals; a change of tactics on 60 minutes where we put Fabio [Borini] in the hole just gave Jermain [Defoe] that little bit of extra support and they’ve both gone on and got a goal each.
Every man pulled together; we can enjoy it today, but tomorrow we have to start getting ready for Everton.
The fans were our twelfth man today, they cheered every pass, every tackle and at every goal they screamed for joy. We’re all enjoying the moment.
Hopefully we can play as well as we did today on Wednesday night and get the job done, it would be fantastic to do that in front of our home fans.
That must have felt like a corner turned for Allardyce, especially considering the way we came from behind against a full strength Chelsea side that really should - and could - have been 4-1 up. We got plenty of luck, we worked very hard and reaped the rewards. Brilliant.
Defoe Is Different Gravy
I've watched Saturday's clincher about eighty times, and each time it amazes me just how he manages to control a ball that has deflected as quickly as it did into his path, and then to finish with such precision. How do you settle the football with your first touch like that, then direct the ball into the bottom corner into an area almost unreachable for the goalkeeper?
Ah yeah - he's Jermain Defoe. Lets move on.
Credit To M'Vila....
I seem to be doing this far more than I would like to, but yes, this is me giving credit where it's due to a player I've recently criticised.
That was Yann M'Vila's best performance since the turn of the year and I'm glad we saw the version of the big Frenchman we had in the early stages of the season when, week on week, he was literally the only Sunderland player worth a mention.
I wish he'd take more shots on when he's in good positions around the box, but other than that it was a fairly flawless performance. We are infinitely better when he plays like that.
The Real Match Winner...
.... was Vito Mannone.
At 2-1 down he made two absolutely massive saves from Diego Costa that would have completely altered the entire landscape of our season. He could have done very little else for the Chelsea goals.
When his chant went up at full time from the South Stand you could tell just how appreciated his contributions were at the weekend.
Let's Not Get Too Carried Away
I certainly did following Saturday's match, but lets remember that we aren't there just yet and we need exactly the same against Everton on Wednesday if we are going to survive.
Newcastle's fans seem to have resigned themselves to certain relegation, but stranger things have happened this season and we have to be confident that we will go out again midweek and give the same level of performance. We were brilliant and the players now have to dust themselves down and prepare to run themselves into the ground one more time.
Sam Allardyce certainly won't let standards slip and the players seem so together, a bond that is often unbreakable. I hope we don't Sunderland this up.
