Chelsea v Sunderland: full time report
Chelsea 0 Sunderland 3
A remarkable Sunderland performance earned Steve Bruce's side a famous 3-0 victory over Premier League leaders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
A wondergoal from Nedum Onuoha put the visitors ahead in the first half, before Asamoah Gyan doubled the Black Cats' advantage after the break. The Blues were stifled all afternoon, and Danny Welbeck put the icing on the cake with a late third to shock the reigning champions.
Considering that Chelsea annihilated Sunderland 7-2 when the two sides last met at Stamford Bridge back in January, plus the fact that Bruce's men were humiliated 5-1 by Newcastle just last month, it was a hugely unexpected result.
The markets suggested that Chelsea would ease to a routine victory, but a spirited, classy performance by Sunderland sealed them a deserved win.
Gyan and Welbeck, in particular, were exceptional for the underdogs and kept Cech on his toes at the start of the match, but the game's first real chance fell to Yuri Zhirkov midway through the first half.
The Russian international embarked on a mazy run, dribbling through a host of Sunderland defenders, but lacked the necessary composure to put his side ahead. A disappointing shot wide of Craig Gordon's far post was a let off for Bruce's men, who were pinned against the ropes for the next 10 minutes.
Summer-signing Ramires and Didier Drogba both went close for the hosts, but the visitors managed to withstand the period of sustained Chelsea pressure and emerged unscathed.
It was Sunderland who then had three glorious chances to take a surprise lead. First, Welbeck was brilliantly denied by Cech after the striker's header appeared destined to hit the back of the net, then Gyan failed to get a touch on Kieran Richardson's driven cross, before Welbeck again shot at the Chelsea keeper.
However, Bruce's side continued to press and were rewarded for their efforts in the closing stages of the half.
Onuoha's Goal of the Month contender saw him dribble past three Chelsea defenders and tuck the ball into the far corner of the net to hand the Mackems a stunning half-time lead. It was a moment of brilliance from the full-back, which shell-shocked the west Londoners.
Chelsea were in severe danger of losing this season's 100% winning record at Stamford Bridge and needed to show dramatic signs of improvement in the second half to turn the match on its head.
But on the 52nd minute, Carlo Ancelotti's side's chances of winning the game were dealt a hammer blow after Gyan struck to give Sunderland an astonishing 2-0 lead.
Welbeck and new England recruit Jordan Henderson combined to carve Chelsea open, with Henderson slipping in Gyan, who swept the ball expertly past Cech.
The Ballon d'Or contender's fifth goal of the campaign sent the visiting supporters into delirium. Sunderland hadn't beaten Chelsea in London since October 2000, but gave themselves hope of ending their dire record against the reigning champions with a second goal.
However, given that the Blues boast a formidable record at the Bridge, Chelsea never looked out of the contest despite the Sunderland players' heroics on the pitch.
Few would have anticipated that Gordon would end the afternoon with a clean sheet to his name, but that's exactly what would happen.
The fight back never came, and instead, Sunderland scored a third after a calamitous mix-up in defence between Ashley Cole and Cech.
The England left-back hit a blind pass back to his goalkeeper, only for the ball to fall to the outstanding Welbeck, who slotted the ball home to complete a memorable afternoon for the north east outfit.
A delighted Bruce hailed it as one of the best performances of his Sunderland tenure, while Ancelotti must be wondering whether the Chelsea hierarchy's decision to sack assistant manager Ray Wilkins was a wise one.
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