04/12/1999  Sunderland 4 Chelsea 1
 
Brilliant Sunderland erased the memories of their opening 
day defeat at Chelsea as they ripped Gianluca Vialli's side to 
shreds.

Peter Reid's men were simply irresistible as Kevin Phillips 
and Niall Quinn made mincemeat of the Blues' defence in an 
unstoppable first-half display which saw them race into a 4-0 
lead.

Quinn collected his sixth goal of the season within 44 
seconds of the kick-off and Phillips plundered numbers 16 and 
17 before the Irishman completed his double in a whirlwind 45 
minutes which had the home supporters on their feet 
throughout.

Gustavo Poyet pulled one back for the visitors in an 
improved but still unimpressive second half, but that proved 
scant consolation on a day the Blues will be happy to 
forget.

Reid was forced to make changes with four players 
suspended, and 20-year-old midfielder Paul Thirlwell was one 
of the beneficiaries as he replaced Gavin McCann.

Chris Makin returned with Darren Williams moving to central 
defence alongside Jody Craddock as both Steve Bould and Paul 
Butler were banned.

Chelsea too made changes just three days ahead of their 
Champions League trip to Lazio, with Dennis Wise returning in 
place of Didier Deschamps, Bernard Lambourde coming in for 
Albert Ferrer and Jon Harley taking over from Dan 
Petrescu.

Sunderland went into the game determined to redress the 
balance after their 4-0 drubbing at Stamford Bridge on the 
opening day of the season.

But few inside the Stadium of Light could have expected the 
astonishing scenes which greeted their disbelieving eyes as 
the first-half unfolded.

It took just 44 seconds for the Wearsiders to get their 
noses in front as French midfielder Eric Roy waltzed through 
the Chelsea defence to give Quinn the easiest of chances to 
start the ball rolling.

The visitors' response was less than convincing and it 
seemed only a matter of time before Sunderland, with the 
impressive Thirlwell showing no signs of nerves, extended 
their lead.

However, the style with which Phillips collected his 16th 
goal of the season was breathtaking as he took aim from 25 
yards and curled a superb shot past the helpless Ed De 
Goey.

Chelsea could do little to halt the marauding red and white 
shirts and Marcel Desailly and Jes Hogh found themselves 
overwhelmed by the little and large combination of Quinn and 
Phillips.

The blue shirts massed just in time to keep out Phillips 
and then Thirlwell in an untidy goalmouth scramble 11 minutes 
before the break, but the respite proved short-lived.

Quinn was the architect as he collected Michael Gray's 
36th-minute cross on his chest before firing in a shot which 
De Goey could only parry, and Phillips arrived at the far post 
to steer home the rebound.

The Sunderland fans were still celebrating two minutes 
later when Summerbee's corner was allowed to fall to the 
Irishman's feet and he dispatched it with glee to leave 
Chelsea an almost vertical task.

It was perhaps inevitable that the second-half would be 
something of an anti-climax, and indeed it was the visitors 
who made more of the running after the break.

Reid's side were content to soak up what pressure the 
Londoners could mount, but in fact, they were rarely in any 
danger.

Vialli had replaced Desailly and Harley with John Terry and 
Bjarne Goldbaek, and while the latter managed to exert some 
influence from wide on the right, chances were few and far 
between.

In fact, it was central defender Terry who had the greater 
attacking impact as he whistled a 30-yard effort just too high 
after striding up from the back.

However, Tore Andre Flo should have reduced the deficit on 
70 minutes when Poyet played him in on the left side of the 
penalty area, but the striker's first touch was poor and 
Thomas Sorensen came from his line to make his first real save 
of the match.

Babayaro's industry earned a shooting chance for Poyet six 
minutes later, but the Uruguayan, who scored twice against 
Sunderland on opening day, side-footed his effort wide of 
Sorensen's left post.

The South American finally struck nine minutes from time as 
Sunderland slept at a Goldbaek corner, but it took two fine 
saves from De Goey to deny Phillips further glory in the dying 
seconds.