Sunderland

3.14

• 
  26

  12

  3.00

  Craig Gordon

  Made a bad mistake for Kalou's goal, charging off his line when he was never going to close down the ground on the Ivorian. Made up for this with a series of excellent stops and can count himself unlucky to let four in. At one stage he was single-handedly keeping Sunderland in the game.

• 
  10

  12

  3.00

  Nedum Onuoha

  The normally assured defender had his hands full tonight and at times found it tough going. Wasn't as effective going forward as he would've liked to be. Improved as the game went on.

• 
  16

  9

  3.50

  Titus Bramble

  Another good performance from the Englishman. It was telling that Chelsea scored four goals and Drogba wasn't involved in a single one.

• 
  7

  18

  2.50

  Anton Ferdinand

  Had looked strong early on and was coping well with Drogba, but was caught too deep for Chelsea's second goal, playing Kalou onside and couldn't catch up with the Ivorian as he raced through on goal. It was a shame, as his overall performance was good but the mistake came at a critical time for Sunderland.

• 
  14

  10

  3.50

  Phil Bardsley

  Gave Sunderland the lead with a strike from the edge of the box early in the game but found Kalou to be a handful and struggled with his movement with Chelsea attacking down the right almost at will in the second half.

• 
  12

  14

  3.00

  Ahmed El Mohamady

  Bright forward play from the Egyptian international, went on a couple of mazey runs down the right flank but sometimes the final ball was lacking or he hesistated with a pass. His best run of the night resulted in him being brought down for the free-kick that saw Sunderland equalise, though. It was his clumsy challenge on Cole that resulted in the Chelsea penalty.

• 
  10

  12

  3.00

  Jordan Henderson

  Made a good start to the game, competing well with Lampard in the middle of the park. As time went on it became clear that Henderson still has some way to go before he's near his opposite number's level.

• 
  13

  15

  3.50

  Kieran Richardson

  Revelled in his role playing just off Gyan and caused Chelsea's defence problems. His free-kick was well taken and he stung the palms of Cech in the final minutes of the first half.

• 
  5

  9

  3.00

  Steed Malbranque

  Moved into a central midfield role alongside Henderson in a midfield combination that showed some promise, seemed to be a good foil for the more energetic Henderson. As the game went on he struggled to maintain his creative influence as Chelsea stamped their authority on proceedings.

• 
  12

  9

  3.50

  Stéphane Sessegnon

  Looked to be making a bright start to his Sunderland career with some good invention in the first half, especially when coming infield. Faded in the second as the Chelsea defenders took a stranglehold of the game. Showed a frightening turn of pace and showed signs he could quickly become a favourite at the Stadium of Light.

• 
  16

  15

  3.00

  Asamoah Gyan

  Put in a shift for his side and made some good runs off the shoulder of his marker, strayed offside to the frustration of the home support.

Substitutions

• 
  0

  14

  0.00

  Jack Colback

  Late introduction for Malbranque as Sunderland chased the game.

• 
  2

  8

  0.00

  Jordan Cook

  Replaced Onuoha in the final minutes.

Chelsea FC

3.19

• 
  61

  18

  3.00

  Petr Cech

  Couldn't have done anything more with either of the first-half goals as both strikes found the bottom corner.

• 
  66

  9

  3.00

  José Bosingwa

  Sunderland debutant Sessegnon looked bright in the early stages but Bosingwa kept close to him in a solid defensive display.

• 
  77

  8

  3.00

  Branislav Ivanovic

  Saw a shot from close range bounce back out off the post as half-time approached. Was defensively composed.

• 
  109

  10

  3.50

  John Terry

  Captain Fantastic marshalled a good defensive line as Chelsea caught Gyan offside time and again, made a couple of foraging runs forward too. This drive to get forward saw him send the rebound from Lampard's shot bouncing above Gordon to give his side the lead. Dominant in the air throughout.

• 
  69

  9

  3.00

  Ashley Cole

  Must have been wearing the wrong studs as the left-back was quick to tumble on multiple occasions. His side profited when he went down in the box to earn the penalty that led to Chelsea's equaliser.

• 
  98

  9

  3.50

  Michael Essien

  Had a venomous shot well saved in the first half and it was his first-time lobbed pass to Cole that led to the penalty - a wonderful pass forward that unlocked the Sunderland defence. Really imposed himself in the second half as Chelsea took control of the game.

• 
  63

  82

  2.00

  John Obi Mikel Flop of the Match

  Largely anonymous in the first half and was overrun in the early stages as Malbranque and Richardson pushed forward for Sunderland. Made a pathetic attempt to close down Bardsley for the opening goal as the full-back breezed past him. Was completely carried by his midfield counterparts and limped off with 15 minutes left to play.

• 
  105

  6

  3.50

  Frank Lampard

  Had a shot that fizzed just wide of the left-hand post minutes before he hammered home from the penalty spot. It was hit initial shot that caused Gordon to parry for the decisive third goal.

• 
  179

  10

  4.00

  Nicolas Anelka Top of the Match

  Lovely through ball to release Kalou for Chelsea's second goal. Looked like a man playing for his place in the team, did a good job playing his team-mates into promising attacking positions. Supplied Kalou with a gilt-edged chance in the second half after a penetrating run at the Sunderland defence. Added a fourth in injury time with a cute finish after Malouda picked him out in the six-yard box.

• 
  95

  21

  3.00

  Didier Drogba

  Struggled to get any joy from the Sunderland defence in the first half as both Bramble and Ferdinand outmuscled the usually dominant Ivorian. Will feel under pressure from the inbound Fernando Torres.

• 
  105

  13

  4.00

  Salomon Kalou

  Lively movement and constantly pestered the Sunderland back line as he justified his inclusion ahead of Malouda. He was bright for his goal, taking his shot early after Gordon raced off his line. Continued to be a real threat to the Sunderland defence and was unlucky not to register for a second time as he saw his shot rebound off both posts and back out to safety. Taken off with 10 minutes to go.

Substitutions

• 
  41

  10

  0.00

  Paulo Ferreira

  Injury time substitute, brought on for Bosingwa to run the clock down.

• 
  79

  4

  3.00

  Ramires

  Introduced with 15 minutes left to play as Mikel limped off.

• 
  89

  1

  3.00

  Florent Malouda

  Late replacement for Kalou, picked out Anelka with a tidy pass to round off the scoring for Chelsea.