Sunderland 1-3 Chelsea

Carlo Ancelotti picked up his first BPL away win as Chelsea were once again made to come from behind to claim victory.

Despite dominating the first half, the visitors went in at the break trailing to Darren Bent's second goal in as many games for Sunderland.

But once Michael Ballack had fired them back on level terms within seven minutes of the restart they never looked back.

Frank Lampard handed them the lead from the penalty spot nine minutes later and Deco's sweet 70th-minute strike proved more than enough to see off the Black Cats.

Steve Bruce's men, as well as the bulk of a crowd of 41,179, had dared to hope a first win over one of the big four since their return to the top flight was on the cards after Bent's 18th-minute opener.

But ultimately they were well beaten as the Blues belatedly rediscovered the form that largely deserted them at the weekend.

Having seen what Hull did to Chelsea on Saturday, when they were only denied a point at Stamford Bridge by Didier Drogba's injury-time winner, Bruce set out to do exactly the same.

By the time he got his players back into the dressing room at half-time, things could hardly have gone much better.

The visitors, who replaced Ricardo Carvalho with Branislav Ivanovic at the back - perhaps in an attempt to limit the blossoming Bent-Kenwyne Jones partnership - and introduced Ballack, Deco and Salomon Kalou further up the field, understandably dominated possession.

But, crucially, they were unable to make the pressure tell as the Black Cats defended from the front in numbers and with real tenacity.

However, they also managed to force their way ahead in what proved to be a rare excursion behind the Chelsea defence.

The visitors may have considered themselves a little unfortunate when Jones' 18th-minute shot on the turn, which was blocked at source by Ivanovic, ran invitingly into Bent's path.

But Michael Essien was caught cold as the striker, who adopted a position wide on the left for much of the game, pounced to slide a shot past keeper Petr Cech.

Chelsea's response was committed, but largely toothless, Deco sending a 21st-minute snap-shot well wide as Marton Fulop enjoyed a relatively comfortable opening 45 minutes.

However, he needed the help of Lee Cattermole, like Bent making his debut at the Stadium of Light, to preserve his clean sheet seven minutes before the break.

Deco's corner was cleared to Ballack on the edge of the penalty area and his stinging volley looked destined for the back of the net until the midfielder, who had been stationed at the back post for the set-piece, cleared off the line.

The home side left the pitch to warm applause at the break but neither they nor the supporters who cheered their efforts expected anything other than a backlash from the visitors when the teams returned to resume hostilities.

Chelsea picked up exactly where they had left off, pinning Sunderland back and probing for a way through.

Lampard drilled a long-range shot into the side-netting within seconds and then provided the cross from which Ivanovic forced Fulop into his first save of the game with a 49th-minute downward header.

Drogba powered a header just over the bar from the resulting corner and youngster Jordan Henderson got a vital toe to a Lampard cross to deny Ashley Cole a clear sight of goal.

However, the breakthrough finally arrived with 52 minutes gone when Ivanovic climbed to help on Lampard's corner and Ballack steered a left-foot volley past Cattermole, who was unable to repeat his heroics on the post.

Chelsea sensed their opportunity and flexed their muscles once again, and they took the lead only nine minutes later.

Drogba's trickery tempted George McCartney into an untidy challenge inside the box and referee Steve Bennett had little choice but to point to the spot.

Lampard stepped up to send Fulop the wrong way and ease the visitors in front for the first time on the night.

Drogba could have wrapped up the points with 23 minutes remaining but headed Ashley Cole's inviting cross down into the turf and over the bar, but Sunderland's respite was short-lived.

There were 20 minutes remaining when full-back Jose Bosingwa found Deco on the edge of the penalty area, and he took a controlling touch before firing home a third goal off the foot of the post from 18 yards.

Sunderland battled all the way to the whistle but the contest was over long before Bennett put them out of their misery.

Sunderland 2-3 Chelsea

Nicolas Anelka is congratulated by Jose Bosingwa after his 19th league goal of the season, with the Frenchman netting the golden boot.

Sunderland survived a nervy final afternoon of the season and was defeated 3-2 by visitors Chelsea.

While rivals Newcastle and Middlesbrough were experiencing the trauma of relegation, Sunderland were succumbing to defeat in Guus Hiddink's final match as manager of Chelsea.

But results elsewhere meant it was not a costly loss, and events elsewhere ensured these two sides will meet again next season.

Substitute Salomon Kalou and England defender Ashley Cole struck inside the final 16 minutes to ensure the three points left Wearside with the visitors, despite Kenwyne Jones' 90th-minute header.

Kieran Richardson had earlier dragged the home side back into the game with a 53rd-minute strike, six minutes after Nicolas Anelka had claimed his 25th goal of the season with a 25-yard rocket.

A crowd of 42,468 left the ground happy for very different reasons, with the victors looking to next Saturday's FA Cup final clash with Everton and their hosts anticipating the watching Ellis Short's buy-out.

After a week during which the strength of the teams Chelsea and Manchester United might field had been a regular topic of debate, no-one could have any complaints about Guus Hiddink's response.

Seven days before the FA Cup final, he left out only Alex and Frank Lampard, and an early injury to Juliano Belletti meant Michael Ballack also got a run-out on his return from a hamstring injury.

It was a measure of what was at stake on a tense final afternoon of the season that the biggest cheer of the first half had nothing to do with what was happening at the Stadium of Light.

With 38 minutes gone on Wearside, the news filtered through that Aston Villa had taken the lead against Newcastle, and the resulting celebrations among the fans decked out in red and white were as much in relief as at the misery of their black and white neighbours.

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech got away with an unconvincing punch early on as he and Jones jumped for a Danny Collins cross.

He also saw a well-struck Grant Leadbitter shot fly well wide with 24 minutes gone as the home side worked hard to limit their opponents.

Chelsea's best moments came at either end of the half with Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda causing the problems.

The Ivory Coast striker chipped an eighth-minute shot just over the rapidly back-pedalling Martin Fulop, and then forced the Hungarian into a solid save from a tight angle three minutes later.

Fulop had to be at his best in stoppage-time when Drogba turned smartly on the edge of the box and curled a shot towards the bottom corner, where the goalkeeper just got his fingertips to the ball.

The woodwork denied the visitors deep into added time when Malouda crashed a dipping left-footed drive against the bar with Fulop beaten.

However, there was nothing Fulop or anyone or anything else could do to prevent Chelsea from taking the lead two minutes after the restart.

Anelka, who had endured a quiet opening 45 minutes by his standards, took it upon himself to light up the game with a piece of individual brilliance.

He picked up the ball around 35 yards out and made ground before unleashing a piledriver which was too good for Fulop's despairing dive and screamed into the top corner.

But Sunderland refused to accept that was game over, and they were back on level terms within six minutes.

The industrious Leadbitter battled hard for the opportunity to cross from the left, and when Cech spilled the ball under pressure from Jones, Richardson pounced to smash the rebound home.

Fulop had to be on his toes to keep out Ballack's near-post flick from a 57th-minute Malouda corner, but the home fans were starting to relax as the nightmare scenario receded.

Sunderland enjoyed their best spell of the game as they started to play with a freedom which had been lacking in recent weeks, and they very nearly took the lead with 19 minutes remaining.

Steed Malbranque broke from his own half and exchanged passes with the supporting Calum Davenport, only for John Terry to intervene before the Frenchman could pull the trigger.

But it was Kalou, who had earlier replaced Michael Essien, who made it 2-1 three minutes later when he drilled an unstoppable shot inside the post to beat Fulop.

Sunderland continued to battle gamely, with Phil Bardsley forcing another save from Cech with a long-range 83rd-minute attempt, but it was Cole who wrapped things up four minutes from time with a volleyed finish from the edge of the box.

Jones' 90th-minute header ensured a tense finale, but there was no way back for the Wearsiders.

Bolton 0-0 Sunderland

Marton Fulop made a crucial stoppage-time save to earn Sunderland a point at Bolton that edges them closer towards survival.

The Black Cats had been the better side for much of a tepid Barclays Premier League contest.

However, Bolton finally roused themselves in a frantic few minutes and Gary Cahill thought he had won it with a header that seemed to be heading for the corner.

Defeat would have been disastrous for the Black Cats but Fulop flung himself to the right to preserve a point, which gives them a five-point advantage over Newcastle and Middlesbrough, who meet at St James' Park on Monday.

In his programme notes, Gary Megson had stressed Bolton were still not safe even if the likelihood is that survival will be attained without so much as another point.

Clearly though, that message did not get through to his team.

The Trotters were sterile in the opening half, failing to muster one decent shot at the Sunderland goal.

It was a performance which did not meet with their supporters approval, with boos heard at regular intervals long before the half-time interval had been reached.

For Sunderland, it should have been manna from heaven, a perfect opportunity to collect the three points required to virtually ensure their own safety after a tortuous campaign.

But the Black Cats are bereft of confidence just now. Presented with a wide open door, they still struggled badly to walk through it.

There was a time when Kieran Richardson was an England international with the world at his feet. Now he just looks like an average Premier League midfielder, who too often takes the wrong option.

Teed up by Kenwyne Jones, Richardson had an early chance to settle a few Sunderland nerves. His shot sailed over.

It was to become a familiar story of a one-sided first-half. Under-fire manager Ricky Sbragia hardly suggested a bold approach by leaving out Djibril Cisse. However, thanks to Bolton's total ineptitude, the visitors were completely on top.

Dean Whitehead's overhead kick, another Richardson effort and a low drive from the industrious Grant Leadbitter all threatened the home goal without looking like breaching it.

If Jones had managed to get himself on the end of something, it might have been a different story.

But the best the £6million forward could manage was a couple of assists, and an anguished flailing of the arms as Richardson ignored him, even though he was unmarked and in a central position, and got robbed by Gavin McCann after Andy O'Brien had gifted him possession.

Faced with the mutinous reaction of his own disgruntled supporters, Megson decided to act, introducing Mark Davies for a totally ineffective Cohen.

A £1million arrival from Wolves in the January transfer window, Davies managed to instil a sense of urgency among his team-mates which had been so badly lacking before.

The youngster drove one bullet strike straight at Calum Davenport, with namesake Kevin also responding to Davies' promptings, causing momentary panic in the Sunderland box with a neat flick-on which eventually ran through to Marton Fulop.

It meant Sunderland were not dominating as they had done before, even if they were still carving out opportunities for themselves.

Richardson should at least have tested Jaaskelainen with a 20-yard free-kick that drifted disappointingly over, which turned out to be the last opportunity they would have before Jones limped off.

Cisse's arrival met with the approval of his side's support, even if Richardson was the player who continued to hog the chances, a half-volley bobbling wide despite being on his better left-foot.

Jaaskelainen stuck out a boot to hack a Cisse cross-shot away from danger before Bolton made one last concerted attempt at breaking the deadlock.

Mark Davies rushed his shot when namesake Kevin flicked a header into his path, then fellow substitute Riga drove a volley into the ground when he should have done much better.

The real drama was still to come though, with Fulop emerging the hero as Sunderland inch nearer to safety.

McCartney red card rescinded

Sunderland full-back George McCartney has had the red card he received in Sunday's defeat at Manchester City rescinded by the Football Association.

The Northern Ireland international was sent off after just 15 minutes at Eastlands with referee Steve Tanner, after consultation with his assistant Mo Matadar, adjudging McCartney to have pulled back Shaun Wright-Phillips when the City winger burst through on goal.

Contact appeared minimal, prompting the Wearsiders to launch an appeal, which has subsequently proved successful.

Had the dismissal been upheld McCartney would have missed out on a return to his former club West Ham. But he will now be free to play at Upton Park on April 4.

Man City 1 - 0 Sunderland

Sunderland remain in the thick of the desperate struggle to escape relegation from the Barclays Premier League after the bravery of their 10 men went unrewarded in a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City.

Micah Richards' second-half header proved enough, with goalkeeper Marton Fulop preventing City increasing their advantage with a string of fine saves near the end in addition to a Robinho penalty save.

But try as Sunderland might, they were always in trouble once George McCartney had been red carded for a professional foul on Shaun Wright-Phillips after just 15 minutes.

And, just three points above local rivals Newcastle, who occupy that nightmare spot of third bottom, the Black Cats are certainly in need of some good fortune.

The dogfight at the bottom has been so tight for so long, Sunderland have always felt they were in the thick of it.

Nevertheless, they adopted a refreshingly offensive approach, based around the tireless work of Kenwyne Jones, hoping to profit from an injury-hit City side lacking Stephen Ireland and Wayne Bridge.

Just to reinforce the feeling of change, Valeri Bojinov was also included in a Blues starting line-up for the first time since August 2007, the intervening period filled with injury and misery for the Bulgarian, once the youngest foreigner ever to star in Serie A.

Bojinov made a pleasing contribution in an open encounter before the whole dynamic of the game was changed in a mad three-minute spell as the quarter of an hour mark was reached.

Wright-Phillips had definitely got in front of McCartney in the chase to reach Elano's through ball. There was little doubt either the England winger would have been clean through.

Of more debate, certainly as far as Sunderland were concerned was the strength of the contact that forced Wright-Phillips to pull up as Fulop came to collect.

Referee Steve Tanner felt it was enough to merit a foul. It took assistant Mo Matadar to confirm the need for a red card.

Although Bojinov curled the free-kick over, City were presented with an even better opportunity to exploit their extra man on their next attack when Steed Malbranque upended Micah Richards, who had burst forward on the overlap.

For a player of Robinho's class, confidence should not be a problem in such situations.

But his trademark shuffle as he strode up, put doubt only in his mind. The shot that followed was weak and Fulop, a conclusive winner of that mind-game battle, made the easiest of saves.

After such a frenzy of incident, the game took a bit of time to draw breath. Yet Sunderland were not content just to sit back and soak up pressure.

If Jones' admirable industry had been matched by a bit more precision from his team-mates, the Black Cats might have presented their hosts with a stern examination.

Instead, City carried most of the attacking threat even if, aside from Robinho's penalty, they created nothing better against 10 men than they had done when Wright-Phillips had ended a splendid one touch move by lobbing narrowly wide when Sunderland still had the full compliment on the field.

The onus was clearly on the hosts to attack and Richards decided it was time to take centre stage.

Good enough to become the youngest defender in England history and win 11 caps during Steve McClaren's ill-fated reign, Richards has lost his way over the past 18 months, so much so that thoughts of going to a World Cup under Fabio Capello seem pretty remote.

But the defender is still only 20 and now slotted back into the right-back position McClaren used to favour, the youngster roared forward with gusto, as if Sunderland were the team to take all his frustration out on.

Opportunities created for Wright-Phillips and Elano were both squandered - the former woefully, the latter agonisingly as a delicate flick rolled wide - so it was just as well Richards had found the net himself, rising to guide Elano's free-kick over the line just before Robinho could prod home.

It was his first goal for two-and-a-half seasons and only the third of a career that was launched with an 'F-word reaction' to a last minute FA Cup equaliser in only his fourth game at Aston Villa in February 2006.

Unfortunately for Richards, his day ended early as he limped off with what appeared to be a hamstring injury, which cast a cloud on an otherwise impressive day.

Wonderful goal by N'Zogbia

Charles N'Zogbia's fine individual goal was the deciding factor in Saturday's away game at Sunderland and the icing on the cake after a good all-round performance for the team.

Latics' record signing has a habit of scoring special goals against the Black Cats having scored a similar one for Newcastle back in 2006, and speaking after the game he talked us through what was going through his mind when he picked up the ball deep in his own half:

"I wasn't really thinking I would go all the way and score when I got the ball, but all of a sudden we were two onto one, and at that point I just thought 'lets make them really work here'.

"I felt a push at one point but I stayed on my feet and when I got into the box I tried to take my chance and got my goal.

"It was a great time to score not too long after they got their equaliser.

"I think we were getting a bit frustrated and it was important to get back in front as quickly as possible, and to finish the first half in the lead was really good.

N'Zogbia slots the winner past Fulop

The goal meant that Wigan now move onto 38 points for this season, taking a huge step towards guaranteeing survival for next season and N'Zogbia explained what it meant to himself and the team to get such a good result:

"We're all happy today to have won the game, and for me personally it was great to score my first goal for Wigan.

"I was really happy for Ben Watson who got his first goal for the club as well, because he's a really nice guy and a very good footballer too. We all worked hard to get something from the game and that's exactly what happened.

"It's a good position to be in for us and after today's win we want to carry on winning and see what happens come the end of the season.

"Everyone's been really friendly since my arrival here and that's why we've got such a good team and obviously that's helped me in settling in."