CHELSEA have set the pace in the first quarter of the Premier League season and have been an unbeatable force, looking more likely than not to be lifting the title come the end of the season.

But while they are still unbeaten, Sunderland’s display on Saturday showed that they can be at least stopped.

Blues midfielder Nemanja Matic praised Gus Poyet’s team for their defensive tactics, and admitted that the Black Cats had drawn a blueprint for other teams to follow.

“We knew that Sunderland could create us some problems,” said the Serbia international. “We were ready for that, but as you know, we didn’t score a goal and without goals you cannot win.

“They were compact, and were on the 16 (edge of the penalty area) with ten players. It was difficult to find a space there. We didn’t find the space, but in the next game this cannot happen – we have to score.

“Of course, now every team is going to defend against us. We know that, but we are ready for that and we will find a space to score.”

So what is this Sunderland blueprint? How did Poyet mastermind his team to keep Chelsea quiet?

We take a look at the statistics, and reveal how Chelsea’s Premier League rivals can follow suit.

The Northern Echo:

STARVE DIEGO COSTA

The 26-year-old has scored 11 goals in 11 Premier League games from 34 shots, giving him a 1:3 goals per shot ratio.

Chelsea had only failed to win twice before visiting Sunderland, and one of those games - the 1-1 draw against Manchester United - Costa did not feature in.

So it was clear that for Sunderland to have any chance against Chelsea, the Premier League’s form striker would have to be nullified.

Which is exactly what happened. Costa did not register a shot on target at the Stadium of Light, only the second game this season where that has happened – the other coming against QPR that Chelsea won 2-1.

In terms of movement and anticipation, there is no greater player in the Premier League than Costa at the moment, but if you want to stop him, you have to make him feed off scraps.

Frustrating him doesn’t always help – if anything it seems to motivate him – but his yellow card picked up on Saturday takes him to five for the season which results in a one-game suspension.

The Northern Echo:

FOCUS ON FABREGAS

Chelsea’s former Arsenal midfielder has settled right into Jose Mourinho’s team this season, and has been the main supply line for Costa. He’s a pass master, with his history steeped in Arsenal and Barcelona.

The 27-year-old has created 43 chances and 10 assists this season, and has completed 989 passes with an accuracy of 90%.

In Chelsea's victories against Aston Villa and Swansea this season, Fabregas coasted through with 92% and 94% completion respectively, but Sunderland managed to get that down to 88%, and while he managed 144 passes in the straightforward 3-0 win over Villa, he could only muster 98 successful passes at the Stadium of Light.

Fabregas, sitting deep in midfield alongside Nemanja Matic, has been the beating heart for Chelsea this season, but if he can't do what he does best, the team will suffer.

The Northern Echo:

SQUEEZE THE MIDDLE

Mourinho’s 4-2-3-1 formation relies a great deal on dominating the centre of the park. Fabregas and Matic set the tempo, while the likes of Oscar, Willian and Eden Hazard get into the spaces and exploit the gaps. It’s a classic tactic, using the slow, patient, accurate build-up play from two deep-lying players to grind down the opposition and to unleash the pace and trickery of the flair players to make the most of it.

The key to succeeding against this tactic is to nullify the threat from the centre of the park. To this end, Sunderland kept it simple, pulling Chelsea’s players wide. Much of Sunderland’s build-up play came on the flanks, chiefly through Anthony Reveillere in the left-back role, keeping the play away from Chelsea's dangerous central men.

While Chelsea were in attack, Sunderland kept men behind the ball and matched their opponents man for man, leaving no space for the likes of Hazard and Oscar to do their damage.

The Northern Echo:

DEFENSIVE HEROICS

As a defensive unit, Sunderland blocked ten shots from Chelsea and made 20 clearances. Their captain, John O’Shea, made five interceptions and five blocks. His aerial prowess was not needed on Saturday with the majority of the game taking place on the deck, and while he and Wes Brown have often struggled against teams with pace, the back four worked in unison to ensure that the game was taking place in front of them, rather than behind them. Neither Brown nor O’Shea dropped a stitch in a game that demanded 100% concentration. Bearing in mind that Chelsea were in possession of the ball for more than two-thirds of the game, this is an exceptional achievement.

The Northern Echo:

A MIDFIELD ENFORCER

This is no secret to Sunderland fans who have watched their team week in, week out. Lee Cattermole was a large part of Sunderland’s successful relegation battle last season, and his chameleonic effect on a game has not gone unnoticed. Against Chelsea, Cattermole was right on top of his game. Making seven tackles out of nine attempts, the midfielder was central to Sunderland’s defensive tactics. To successfully keep Chelsea at bay, a central midfielder in the Cattermole mould, alongside someone like Seb Larsson, who was equally impressive, is essential.

The Northern Echo:

BE CLINICAL

While Diego Costa was not given a sniff in front of goal on Saturday, Sunderland had their chances – 12 in total, three on target, with Adam Johnson going close late on. Steven Fletcher has been Sunderland’s most prolific striker with four to his name this season, but had the Black Cats been able to boast a clinical centre-forward with his shooting boots on, victory could have been achieved.