Chelsea make sub all the fans want – but player taken off is a shock as Alonso rolls the dice

Estevao has come on for Chelsea as tehy look to find some attacking momentum – but the player withdrawn is a surprise.

Chelsea were very poor in the first half against Sunderland and are behind in the game after a penalty to the Black Cats.

They offered very little in attack, and immediate changes were needed. Xabi Alonso has wasted no time, bringing on winger Estevao at the break to try to inject some attacking invention to his blunt forward line which looks lost without Joao Pedro.

That was an introduction many expected – and quite a few hoped for. But what nobody saw coming was the player taken off.

Rather than a straight swap for an attacker, or withdrawing a midfielder, Alonso has made the surprise call of taking off defender Levi Colwill. That means Moises Caicedo will drop back into defence to play alongside Wesley Fofana.

This could go very, very wrong, but we love the bravery Alonso has shown here to change things dramatically right away against a Sunderland team who are bound to try and sit in and defend for 45 minutes.

The refereeing in the first half caused a lot of displeasure among Chelsea fans, who saw one penalty given against them and one they thought they deserved denied.

Romeo Lavia started today, his third start in a week for the Blues. It’s a crucial moment in his Chelsea career as he finally picks up momentum.

Emi Martinez has missed today’s game against Sunderland, despite having trained this week in a mask. Xabi Alonso explained why.