Marc Cucurella has given his verdict on Chelsea's loss to Sunderland (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)

Marc Cucurella has called on the Chelsea squad to learn to manage games better after the Blues' 2-1 loss to Sunderland on Saturday. The west Londoners have chucked away eight points from winning positions already this season and led the Black Cats through Alejandro Garnacho’s fourth-minute strike at Stamford Bridge.

Sunderland never looked like being overwhelmed and equalised in the 22nd minute through Wilson Isidor. A balanced, fiercely contested fight ensued with both sides playing to win, but it was Regis Le Bris’ visitors that struck a definitive late blow, Brian Brobbey setting up substitute Chemsdine Talbi to roll in the winner and ensure Sunderland finished the day second in the table.

“It’s a really tough one to take,” Cucurella told Chelsea’s website. “We need to improve with these matches. I think we need to learn to manage the game better.

“We scored early, dominated at that stage but then we let the opponents back into it. We need to learn to kill games off when we are...