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Premier League
Apr 7, 2013 at 3pm UK
 
Sunderland

2-1

Ivanovic (55'), Kilgallon (47' og.)
FT(HT: 0-1)
Azpilicueta (45' og.)

Live Commentary: Chelsea 2-1 Sunderland - as it happened

Read how Paolo Di Canio's first game in charge of Sunderland ended in a loss at Chelsea.
2

Paolo Di Canio took charge of his first game as Sunderland manager at Chelsea earlier this afternoon.

The Black Cats went in at half time leading thanks to an own goal from Cesar Azpilicueta but ended up losing the match thanks to a couple of quickfire Chelsea goals soon after the break.

Read how it all unfolded at Stamford Bridge in our minute-by-minute updates below.


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Afternoon all! It's a bumper Sunday of Premier League football and what better place to be than right here with us on SM!

There's five games in the top flight today. One is half an hour old, another just kicking off while our feature game here is one of two games kicking off at 3pm. Finally, there's the relegation scrap between QPR and Wigan at 10 past four.

It remains Liverpool 0-0 West Ham at Anfield and you can follow our coverage of that one with Barney Corkhill. Just follow this link. Simple.

If Spurs vs. Everton is more your cup of tea, then head over and join Mark Langshaw by clicking here. Referee Andre Marriner has just begun the action.

GOAL! Wowee wow! Emmanuel Adebayor scores after 34 seconds to give Spurs the lead at Everton. It's only two seconds slower than Robin van Persie's goal against West Ham which is the quickest so far this season.

BREAKING TEAM NEWS! Connor Wickham starts up front for Sunderland while Oscar, Juan Mata and Eden Hazard all line up for Chelsea.

SUNDERLAND XI: Mignolet; Bardsley, Rose, O’Shea, Kilgallon; N’Diaye, Gardner, Larsson, Johnson; Sessegnon; Wickham

CHELSEA XI: Cech; Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Luiz, Bertrand; Ramires, Mikel; Oscar, Mata, Hazard; Ba

Di Canio isn't afraid to shake things up then. The Italian makes three changes to the Sunderland side, with Matthew Kilgallon, Sebastian Larsson and Wickham replacing Titus Bramble, James McClean and Danny Graham from the side that lost to Man Utd last week.

*Live Text Commentary Sponsored by Bet365* Get up to £200 in free bets for all football fixtures this Easter weekend.

Benitez, meanwhile, makes one change to the side that knocked United out of the cup on Monday as Ryan Bertrand replaces the injured Ashley Cole at left-back.

Chelsea have actually had a game since then against Rubin Kazan but there were plenty of changes that night as the Blues opened up a 3-1 first-leg advantage.

UPDATE: Spurs's lead didn't last long at White Hart Lane as Phil Jagielka heads home a corner to equalise for Everton. Follow Mark here.

Today's game is actually a fourth in eight days for the Blues. They have a little bit of a 'break' coming up after today's game as their next match isn't until Thursday. HOWEVER, it is the return leg against Rubin and they have to go all the way to Russia!

REFEREE WATCH: Today's man in charge is Neil Swarbrick.

In the run-up to his game, Benitez has said that all of the spotlight will be on Di Canio and that the limelight will be off him for once!

As mentioned earlier, the biggest news from the two lineups is that Di Canio has selected teenage striker Wickham ahead of Graham. Personally, I'll have a keen eye on the 19-year-old as he was a youngster at my club Ipswich. He has plenty of potential with a muscular frame that's huge for his age. He's yet to quite kick on in the top flight after picking up a long-term injury in his debut season last year but I think he'll be an England striker in a couple of years.

I remember Wickham scoring this one goal for Ipswich against Sheffield United where he ran more than half the pitch before scoring. Watch it below:


Enough with the fond memories of Wickham at Ipswich anyway, let's take a closer look at Chelsea's lineup this afternoon. It's not often that Benitez selects all three of Oscar, Mata and Hazard because it could be argued that their playing styles are too similar. I don't see a problem with it though, you want to see that sort of quality on the pitch!

It's not surprising that Demba Ba is selected up front ahead of Fernando Torres, despite the Spaniard's brace against Rubin on Thursday. Ba scored a stunning goal in the FA Cup quarter-final victory over United and is still ahead of Torres in the pecking order in Benitez's attack.

I've spent too long not talking about Di Canio! When at his previous club Swindon he was famous for his touchline antics and rages. Check out the video below for footage of him substituting and majorly upsetting young goalkeeper Wes Fotheringham:


PREDICTION TIME! With 10 minutes until we get underway it's time for my thoughts on today's match. As much as Di Canio will gee up his players, I can't see Sunderland having enough to keep the Blues out. 3-1 to the hosts, with Hazard scoring two.

Here come the teams into the tunnel. Chelsea all in blue and Sunderland in their classic red-and-white stripes.

And here comes DI CANIO! The Italian makes a somewhat muted entrance before embracing John Terry and having an extended smiley chat with Benitez.

KICKOFF! Neil Swarbrick blows his whistle and Chelsea get us underway at the Bridge.

Di Canio is sporting a fabulous jumper, by the way. He really does know how to make an impression.

CHANCE! Almost a dream start for Di Canio as Chelsea make a hash of clearing the ball and a header loops over the top for Sessegnon. He brings it down and smashes into the near-post side-netting. If only he had squared to Wickham who had the simplest of tap-ins.

Azpilicueta floats a ball into the box for Ba but he's not quite alert enough to get on the end of it the other side of O'Shea. Decent start from Sunderland so far.

Oscar's pass inside hits the heels of Gardner and falls back for the Brazilian with space on the edge of the area. He goes for goal with his left foot but skies it well over the top.

*Live Text Commentary Sponsored by Bet365* Get up to £200 in free bets for all football fixtures this Easter weekend.

Good run and pass from Ramires sets up Ba but his shot is blocked and Sunderland scamper it clear.

Ba wins a flick-on and all of a sudden Mata is in. The Spaniard looked offside to the naked eye and yes, he was. The linesman was a little late raising his flag but at least he made the right call.

UPDATE: Everton have turned it around at White Hart Lane as Kevin Mirallas scores a beauty. What a run.

Chelsea have a free kick on the edge of the area as Gardner trips Ramires.

Chances at either end! Luiz's free-kick is blocked and then Kilgallon blocks Ba superbly, then a quick break sees Johnson's shot blocked by Luiz's face.

UPDATE: It finishes goalless between Liverpool and West Ham at Anfield. Read our match report here.

YELLOW! First booking of the game goes to Gardner for a nasty lunge on Ba. The Senegalese frontman has stayed down as well. It doesn't look good.

Ba is back on the field after receiving treatment. Gardner will miss the Tyne-Wear derby because of that booking - his 10th of the season.

Ivanovic gets the ball caught under his feet inside the box but he recovers to stab clear just before Wickham can steal it.

Luiz's cross is poor but it manages to beat the first man and reach Ba with his back to goal. The ball pops up off his ankle and he tries the overhead spectacular but doesn't get it anywhere near the goal.

*Live Text Commentary Sponsored by Bet365* Get up to £200 in free bets for all football fixtures this Easter weekend.

Mata gets in down the right but can't pick out Ba in the middle. A red-and-white shirt dived in on the Spaniard and could easily have conceded a penalty.

"HANDBALL!" cry the Chelsea fans and they're rewarded with a free kick to the right of the area as the ball struck Larsson's arm.

Mata swings over a great ball but it's well defended by Sunderland as we approach half time.

If you give this page a manual refresh you'll be able to see a picture of Di Canio barking orders in his resplendent outfit.

Oscar beats his man down the left and clips over a cross that is perfect for Hazard but his header is weak and easy for Mignolet to collect.

GOAL! Chelsea 0-1 Sunderland (Azpilicueta OG)

Sunderland lead at the Bridge! Wickham's shot is blocked and that earns Sunderland a corner which Johnson whips in. O'Shea got up well to flick it goalwards and Azpilicueta inadvertently turned it into his own goal. OOPS!

HALF-TIME: Chelsea 0-1 Sunderland

Well there you go, Di Canio heads to the changing room with his side one up on the European champions. Want to know what his reaction was when they scored? Absolutely motionless! Brilliant.

If you've only just joined us and want a quick summary of the first half, you can read our HT report by clicking here.

In all honesty, Sunderland were more than matching Chelsea up until the goal. They countered with pace through the likes of Sessegnon and Johnson while Wickham has proved a handful for Ivanovic and especially Luiz.

The Black Cats should have taken the lead after just a couple of minutes when Sessegnon blazed wide instead of squaring to the unmarked Wickham. Chelsea have had plenty of the ball but not worried Mignolet at all so far.

*Live Text Commentary Sponsored by Bet365* Get up to £200 in free bets for all football fixtures this Easter weekend.

UPDATE: It finishes 2-2 at White Hart Lane after Gylfi Sigurdsson equalised late on for Spurs.

Our match report on an end-to-end game in North London is here.

Here come the players back out into the Stamford Bridge sunlight and Benitez has made a change with FERNANDO TORRES coming on for Demba Ba. Surely the Senegalese was shaken up by that horrible Gardner challenge.

KICKOFF! Sunderland get the second half underway. Can Di Canio's side hold out for a crucial win?

GOAL! Chelsea 1-1 Sunderland (Kilgallon OG)

A second own goal in the match brings Chelsea level! It was a fabulous run by Torres down the left to create the goal. He squared it for Oscar who decided not to shoot, instead attempting to cut inside. Mignolet managed to get to him but unfortunately the ball ricocheted off Kilgallon's leg before spinning into the corner. Bizarre goal.

UPDATE: The final Premier League match of the day has just got underway a little down the road as QPR welcome Wigan to Loftus Road. I'll bring you the incidents as and when they happen in that one. By the way, it's still Newcastle 0-0 Fulham. That game kicked off at the same time as this one.

GOAL! Chelsea 2-1 Sunderland (Ivanovic)

The game has been turned on its head and we haven't played 10 minutes of the second half yet! Luiz shoots from the edge of the box and Ivanovic luckily deflects it into the corner. The defender knew very little about that.

You have to say that those two goals were ridiculously fortunate for Chelsea. Sunderland shouldn't be too disheartened as they've been more than in this game.

*Live Text Commentary Sponsored by Bet365* Get up to £200 in free bets for all football fixtures this Easter weekend.

Torres gets a warm round of applause after another surging run. He's really played rather well since coming on.

Mata nutmegs Larsson in the area and then has his cross-shot deflected goalwards and Mignolet can only tip it around the post. Imagine if they scored another fluke?!

YELLOW! Second Sunderland player to go into referee Swarbrick's book is Danny Rose for wiping out Hazard's legs after a clever flick round the corner from the Belgian. The visitors have looked nothing like the side they were in the first half.

CLOSE! This is Chelsea at their best as Mata and Oscar play a quick one-two on the edge of the box before the latter dinks a cross into Torres whose header is just over the bar.

David Luiz is down injured and it looks like John Terry is going to replace the Brazilian.

In the other dugout, Di Canio calls James McClean back from his warm-up and it looks like the Italian will be making his first change shortly.

SHOT! Luiz didn't end up going off in the end but he's just given the ball straight to Johnson who then beat one man with a quick stepover before curling an effort just wide.

SUNDERLAND SUB: McClean replaces Larsson.

UPDATE: At Loftus Road Bobby Zamora has been sent off for a karate kick to a Wigan player's head.

And now it's Wickham who goes down injured in the corner of the pitch. Sunderland down to 10 briefly.

*Live Text Commentary Sponsored by Bet365* Get up to £200 in free bets for all football fixtures this Easter weekend.

Wickham's mouth is actually bleeding and replays show that it was a little jab of the elbow from Luiz. The Brazilian can count himself lucky there.

SUNDERLAND SUB: Di Canio makes his second change and it's Jack Colback on for the yellow-carded Gardner.

CHELSEA SUB: Second change for Benitez as he takes off (my fantasy football captain) Hazard for Benayoun.

Corner to Sunderland, chance to get it in there...

A good delivery from Johnson but Cech is up well to punch clear.

CHELSEA SUB: Final substitution for the Blues and it's Frank Lampard on for Juan Mata, who's had a quiet game by his standards.

Four minutes added on at the end.

UPDATE: Late drama at St James' Park as Papiss Cisse surely scores the winner in the 93rd minute.

FULL-TIME: Chelsea 2-1 Sunderland

It's a loss for Di Canio in his first game. It was a good first half from the Black Cats but they crumbled in the second. Granted, both goals were extremely fortunate but they offered very little.

*Live Text Commentary Sponsored by Bet365* Get up to £200 in free bets for all football fixtures this Easter weekend.

If you've only just joined us and want a more concise summary of the match, read Liam Apicella's match report here.

Three points takes Chelsea back above Spurs into third on goal difference. Benitez's side also have a game in-hand on their London rivals. Sunderland remain just above the relegation zone for the time being but if Wigan beat QPR then they'll drop in to the bottom three.

Thanks for joining Sports Mole this afternoon. Be sure to stick around on site for plenty of reaction and analysis. We'll be back for more live action tomorrow and the Manchester derby! See you then.

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Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez gestures from the sideline during his side's match with West Brom on March 2, 2013
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