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Premier
League champions Chelsea beat Sunderland 5-1 on Sunday as captain John Terry
waved goodbye to Stamford Bridge.
The Blues legend, who has spent 22 years at the club but will leave this summer,
played 26 minutes after starting his second match in a row and was replaced to a
standing ovation and a guard of honour from his team-mates.
Willian's equaliser (8) had already cancelled out Javier Manquillo's
third-minute strike by that point, and Eden Hazard (61) and Pedro (77) scored
after the break to put the hosts in control.
Substitute Michy Batshuayi grabbed a late double (90, 90+2) to seal a
record-breaking 30th Premier League victory this season.
It was the perfect prelude to the lifting of the trophy after the match and for
Chelsea's FA Cup final against Arsenal on Saturday.
Terry started his final home match as Conte fielded a strong XI but the Blues
fell behind to a shock Sunderland opener after just three minutes.
Sebastian Larsson's free-kick hit the wall and broke kindly for Manquillo, who
smashed home his first senior goal.
The response by the champions was swift and they levelled through Willian five
minutes later.
They kept the ball alive after Marcos Alonso's superbly struck set-piece came
back off the woodwork and the Brazilian's low shot sneaked past Jordan Pickford.
Diego Costa volleyed wide and Victor Moses blazed over as Chelsea threatened to
run riot before Terry's farewell took centre stage on 26 minutes.
The Blues' No 26 was replaced by Gary Cahill in a pre-planned substitution,
allowing Terry to say an emotional goodbye to his footballing home since 1995.
The visitors went closest before the break when John O'Shea fired straight at
Thibaut Courtois and the Chelsea 'keeper was called into action again in the
second half when he turned away Jack Rodwell's header.
The saves proved crucial as already-relegated Sunderland were blown away by a
flurry of Chelsea goals in the final 30 minutes.
Hazard's 16th of the season put them ahead after good work by Costa, who seemed
to savour the moment when he was substituted late on.
The striker - reportedly a summer transfer target for Chinese Super League clubs
- waved to all corners of the ground before embracing team-mates on the bench.
Pedro added their third after capitalising on a mix-up between Joleon Lescott -
making his full Sunderland debut - and goalkeeper Pickford.
And the Blues sealed their triumph with two strikes by Batshuayi in the closing
stages.
The former Marseille forward, whose goal at West Brom sealed the title, poked in
from Pedro's pass and looked offside when curling home their fifth goal in added
time.
Chelsea finish the season as champions for the fifth time in 13 years and will
now turn their attention towards Saturday's FA Cup final.
They have also become the first top-flight team in history to win 30 games in a
38-game season, breaking their previous best mark set in 2004/05 and 2005/06.
Player ratings
Chelsea: Courtois (7), Azpilicueta (7), Luiz (7), Terry (7),
Moses (8), Kante (7), Fabregas (7), Alonso (8), Willian (8), Costa (7), Hazard
(8)
Subs used: Cahill (7), Batshuayi (8), Pedro (8)
Sunderland: Pickford (4), Jones (5), Manquillo (6), O'Shea (5),
Rodwell (5), Oviedo (5), Lescott (4), Larsson (5), Cattermole (5), Januzaj (5),
Borini (5)
Subs used: Gooch (5), Gibson (5)
Man of the match: Willian
Click Here For Official Team Sheet
Teams
Chelsea Courtois, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Terry (c) (Cahill 28),
Moses, Kante, Fabregas, Alonso, Willian, Hazard (Pedro 71), Costa (Batshuayi 62)
Subs Not Used Begovic, Zouma, Matic, Chalobah
Booked Costa
Goals Willian 8, Hazard 61, Pedro 78, Batshuayi 90, 90+3
Sunderland Pickford, Jones, O’Shea (c), Lescott, Manquillo,
Larsson, Cattermole (Gibson 88), Rodwell, Oviedo, Januazaj (Gooch 62), Borini
Subs Not Used Mannine, Love, Asoro, Maja, Embleton
Booked Jones
Goals Manquillo 3
Attendance 41,618
Referee Neil Swarbrick