Hazard inflame denomination sematic with bitstock in septimal goal thriller Sunderland 3 Chelsea 4

Hazard inflame denomination sematic with bitstock in septimal goal thriller Sunderland 3 Chelsea 4

Chelsea sent out a Hazard warning to their titles rivals with a win at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday.
They had to do it the hard way, coming from behind once and overcoming a second half Sunderland revival to win three points to keep the pressure on leaders Arsenal.
There may be nearly an entire division between the two teams, but it was Belgian magician Eden Hazard who was the difference last night, scoring two drilled right foot goals on the dribble to bury the Premier League's bottom side – although it was an own goal by Phil Bardsley which proved decisive.

Rising up: Chelsea players celebrate Frank Lampard's goal as the Blues stay in the title chase

Hazard warning: Chelsea's Belgian playmaker was the most valuable player at the Stadium of Light

At the double: Chelsea's leading goal scorer Eden Hazard (R) nets his second decisive goal of the night

MATCH FACTS

Sunderland: (4-5-1): Mannone 6; Bardsley 7, Brown 7, O'Shea 7, Dossena 6; Giaccherini 5 (Johnson 65), Ki 6, Gardner 7 (Fletcher 80), Colback 6 (Larsson 57), Borini 6; Altidore 7.
Subs: Celustka, Roberge, Cattermole, Pickford

Booked: Bardsley, Dossena, Collback
Scorer: Altidore 14', Bardsley 86

Chelsea: Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech 6; Ivanovic 6, Cahill 7, Terry 6, Azpilicueta 6; Ramires 7, Lampard 8; Mata 7 (Obi Mikel 81), Willian 8, Hazard 9; Torres 6 (Ba 65).
Subs not used: Cole, Essien, Schurrle, De Bruyne, Schwarzer.
Booked: Ramires, Hazard, Willian

Scorer: Lampard 17', Hazard 36', 62', Bardsley (og)
Referee: Phil Dowd 6.
Man of the match: Hazard
*Player ratings by COLIN YOUNG at the Stadium of Light

• Click HERE for full results, fixtures and tables in the Premier League - plus your stats zone from the match

It was another blow for Sunderland boss Gus Poyet, who had hope to mark the 13th anniversary of his first game on Wearside, which was a 4-1 Sunderland win over Chelsea, with another win.
Although striker Jozy Altidore finally broke his Premier League duck, and captain John O'Shea and Bardsley also netted, Sunderland remain stranded at the foot of the table.
Both sides had made a bright start before Altidore broke that long duck in the 14th minute. In two carbon copy moves, there was a touch of the play-making brilliance of players from both sides.
Sunderland's Italian pair Emanuele Giaccherini and Fabio Borini combined to create the home side's first opening but on-loan Liverpool striker Borini's cross evaded his fellow countryman and bounced across Petr Cech's goal.
Hazard and Juan Mata then produced an almost identical move at the other end and again the final ball flew into touch.
There was an element of good fortune about Sunderland's opener, and a hint of untidy defending from John Terry after the Chelsea defence failed to clear a messy free-kick from Andrea Dossena.
The former Liverpool full back pushed Craig Gardner and his fierce right foot aside to attempt a left-foot shot from the right of the area after Cesar Azpilicueta had hauled down Altidore.
Even though his weak shot barely reached the Chelsea wall, but it bounced into the path of Jack Colback who immediately poked the ball back into the area to the feet of Altidore, who, with Terry at his back, gathered the ball, turned instantly and drilled his shot past Cech.

Heat map: Eden Hazard put in an impressive performance on the left to be crowned man of the match

Duck broken: Jozy Altidore (right) scores his first Premier League goal for Sunderland

American boy: Sunderland's Jozy Altidore (centre) celebrates with Fabio Borini (left) and Craig Gardner (right)

Super Frank: Lampard equalises within three minutes with his eighth goal of the season

Back of the net: Frank Lampard nets his 208th goal for Chelsea - their all-time leading scorer

It was Altidore's first goal in eight Premier League starts and 12 appearances, and may force a re-write for the Sunderland supporters who chant ‘Jozy Altidore, he's never going to score, why, why, why?' The lead lasted less than four minutes for Poyet and the home side.
There had already been a hint of danger from another Mata run down the right and centre which was booted clear by O'Shea, who had been declared fit before kick-off after picking up a groin injury at the weekend.
Again the goal came from the home side failing to clear a set piece, although there appeared to be no danger when Mata's corner flew over the entire packed penalty area and out to Ki Sung-Yeung who failed to clear properly.
He only managed to find Hazard at the edge of the area who breezed past Gardner to chip a neat cross from the by-line into the throng. He found the unmarked Lampard, who lost his marker Dossena and nodded into the ground past the stranded Vito Mannone.
Chelsea then simply cranked up the possession and the pressure, although the best opportunity before their 36th minute second was again created at a corner when Altidore failed to get enough purchase on his clearance and a bouncing ball landed at the feet of Fernando Torres who drilled his half-volley over. The Spanish striker was also to be denied by O'Shea's excellent timely tackle from behind after the pair chased on to Lampard's wonderful pass from mid-way inside his own half.
There was no mistake from Hazard however when he was given the freedom of Wearside and allowed to run across the edge of the Sunderland penalty area.
Not that the build-up was subtle. Cech's enormous boot forward was headed in the air by Torres, Hazard gathered the loose ball, took half-a-dozen short touches with his right foot, skipped inside Gardner and Phil Bardsley and drilled a shot across goal and out of Mannone's despairing reach.

 

Hot seat: Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho (left) and Sunderland's Gus Poyet look on during the game

Flying high: An inspired Eden Hazard (centre) celebrates after sending Chelsea 2-1 up at half-time

The equaliser: Sunderland captain wheels away after drawing level early in the second half

O.G: Sunderland's Phil Bardsley (right) scores an own goal to give Chelsea 4-2 lead towards the end of the game

Making amends: Phil Bardsley cancels out his own goal by netting at the other end to make the score 3-4

Sunderland equalised immediately after the re-start when Chelsea failed to clear another untidy corner from Giaccherini, whose under-hit set pieces were causing some consternation among the home supporters.
The ball bounced around in the area until it fell at the feet of Sunderland captain John O'Shea who fired his quick shot past the exposed Cech from close range.
Such was Chelsea's concern at that stage that Fernando Torres was booked by Phil Dowd for attempting to referee the game after he failed to send off Jack Colback for a second blatant trip on the excellent Willian on two of his many forays at the heart of the Sunderland defence.
Perhaps the Spain striker would have been better concerning himself with his own job. He fluffed his best chance when the ball fell at his feet in front of goal after Mannone had spilled a routine effort from Hazard form the edge of the area. His second half replacement Demba Ba, also wasted his best opportunity when he was played into the area but shot wide.
Thankfully for Mourinho and Chelsea, Hazard himself made no mistake for the third.

In the book: Andrea Dossena (2R) is spoken to by the referee after a tough challenge on Juan Mata

Doh! Chelsea's Fernando Torres rues a missed chance on goal that continues his recent poor form

Calm before the storm: Fans head into the Stadium of Light ahead of the game

Chelsea's fourth came six minutes from the end, just after Poyet had thrown on Steven Fletcher in a bid to find another equalizer.
And it came from former Newcastle striker Demba Ba's cross which Phil Bardsley inexplicably, while under no pressure, slid into his own net, leaving Mannone with no chance.
But Bardsley made some amends within two minutes when he was on the end of a loose ball from another corner Chelsea failed to clear.

But the visitors held on to win.