Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has lived a charmed life at Stamford Bridge since joining from Serie A giants AC Milan in May 2009.
He helped guide the side to the Premier League title some 12 months later, knocking Manchester United off their perch after three consecutive successes, and the FA Cup during a magnificent debut campaign in England.
In doing so, he became just the second non-British manager to land the Double, with Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger being the other.
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The Pensioners then started life to this season in nonchalant fashion, smashing West Bromwich Albion 6-0 on the opening weekend before landing another 6-0 triumph at Wigan Athletic on matchday two.
Further confident scores over Stoke City, West Ham United and Blackpool followed before their bid hit the buffers against Manchester City, with a solitary effort from Carlos Tevez handing the Citizens a 1-0 win at Eastlands.
Their response to the setback was somewhat exemplary. Ten points collected from a possible 12 demonstrated their return to form but, in recent games, the Blues’ unrelenting journey to a fourth Premier League crown has stumbled somewhat significantly.
A miserable 2-0 loss to a Fernando Torres-inspired Liverpool was followed up with a timely, but unconvincing 1-0 home success over London rivals Fulham.
Just hours after grabbing the three points over the Cottagers, the much-loved Ray Wilkins, the tried and trusted assistant to the Italian tactician, was dismissed after his contract ran its course and, despite their table-topping status, murmurs of discontent surfaced from within the ranks.
And on their most recent outing last Sunday, hope was sky-high ahead of their game with Sunderland in the capital after Manchester United’s 2-2 draw at Aston Villa the day before offered Chelsea the chance to go five points clear at the top of the tree.
But another expected win failed to materialise as Steve Bruce’s classy Black Cats stunned the home faithful with a marvellous 3-0 triumph.
Goals from Nedum Onuoha, Asamoah Gyan and Danny Welbeck ensured the visitors collected a memorable and fully deserved victory.
The likes of Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda, Nicolas Anelka and Ashley Cole produced subdued performances compared with their impeccable usual own high standards.
Ancelotti must now get back to the drawing board and gee up his troops after the international midweek break.
It will be interesting to see if the players’ confidence has taken a battering after their aberration on the Sabbath and, with tough away-day fixtures against Birmingham City and Newcastle United fast approaching, they must click back through the gears to keep ahead of the chasing pack.
