In his first season in charge, he took Sunderland to the League Cup Final after a penalty shootout win over Manchester United in the semi-finals. On 19 April 2014, Poyet defeated José Mourinho in his first-ever home league defeat in the Premier League as Chelsea manager, a 2–1 win to Sunderland at Stamford Bridge. Poyet led Sunderland to a 2–0 win at home to West Bromwich Albion on 7 May to guarantee Premier League safety with one game remaining, performing "a miracle" in his own words by arresting a decline that saw Sunderland seven points adrift of safety as late as 7 April, when they lost 5–1 to Tottenham Hotspur. Defeat to Everton in their following league game made avoiding relegation look like a near impossible task for the club, but Sunderland, under Poyet's stewardship, earned 13 points out of a possible 15 in their following five league games.