Match Report: Sunderland 1-3 Chelsea

Two goals from Fernando Torres helped Chelsea get their first win for seven games before they head to Japan for the Club World Cup.Rafa Benitez opted for the same side that beat Nordsjaelland 6-1 in the Champions League in midweek and the Blues started strongly, with Eden Hazard, Juan Mata and Torres going close in the opening seven minutes.Chelsea got the goal their early dominance deserved as Torres struck on 11 minutes, volleying home Hazard's cross into the area to finish a swift Blues counter attack.
Sunderland came back into the game and enjoyed long periods of possession of their own but, on the strike of half time, Seb Larsson brought down Ramires in the corner of the box and the referee pointed to the spot.
Surprisingly, up stepped Torres to double Chelsea's lead and send Simon Mignolet the wrong way from the spot. It got even worse for the Stadium of Light faithful on 48 minutes as Mata made it 3-0 to Chelsea. Torres hit a fierce drive against the post and it dropped to Mata, with the Spaniard making no mistake from close range.Victor Moses shot narrowly wide on 51 minutes before Sunderland stepped up to try and get something from the game. Adam Johnson got a goal back on 65 minutes with a swerving shot from a tight angle on the left that seemed to deceive Cech on its way in.The Chelsea keeper then had to be at his best to stop a Johnson free-kick 10 minutes later and, as the game petered out, Conor Wickham tested him again before Craig Gardner hit the bar from a dead-ball in injury time.
However, Chelsea held on to close the gap on Manchester City to four points but it means the pressure grows even more on Martin O'Neill at Sunderland.

Sunderland 2-1 Blackburn Rovers

Martin O'Neill started his Sunderland reign with a win as David Vaughan and Sebastian Larsson scored late on to snatch victory. Larsson scored an injury-time free-kick to wrap up the points for the new boss after Vaughan equalised in the 84th minute. It was a bright start to the game from a rejuvenated Sunderland side with Phil Bardsley going close twice inside ten minutes but it was the visitors who opened the scoring. Simon Vukcevic opened his Rovers account when he headed in from close range after Christopher Samba's shot was saved by Keiren Westwood. Kieran Richardson could have equalised immediately for the Black Cats but he could not turn in Stephane Sessegnon's cross from six-yards and saw a later shot deflect wide of the post. O'Neill may have counted his side unlucky to be behind at the break but Blackburn could have doubled their lead when Scott Dann headed in Morten Gamst Pdersen's free-kick. Referee Peter Walton blew up for a foul on the goalkeeper by Samba but there did not seem to be much wrong with the aerial challenge. Blackburn were happy to sit back and defend in the second-half and it was one way traffic throughout. Richardson was inches away from levelling the scoreline again when his mis-hit corner clipped the near post while his deflected effort on the hour mark saw Paul Robinson pull off a top-drawer save to keep his side ahead. The Sunderland breakthrough eventually came with six minutes remaining and Robinson could do nothing about Vaughan's incredible 30-yard strike into the top corner. The game seemed to be heading for a draw before Mauro Formica was penalised for handball on the edge of his own box in stoppage time and Larsson converted the free-kick to make amends for his penalty miss at Wolves last weekend. The full-time whistle did not blow until the 102nd minute as Jason Lowe left the field on a stretcher in injury time to mark a bad day at the office for Blackburn and under-pressure Steve Kean. It is a different story on Wearside now however. Their new manager has brought hope to the club and the three points in his first game see the side climb out of the bottom three.

Match Report:Liverpool 1 Sunderland 1

Sebastian Larsson scored a superb volley on his debut to earn a point for Sunderland at Liverpool. The hosts will curse the fact Luis Suarez missed an early penalty when he was tripped by Kieran Richardson before sending his spot-kick way over. But the Uruguayan shrugged off his disappointment to nod in a 12th-minute opener from Charlie Adam's cross. Sunderland rarely threatened in the first half but Larsson's 57th-minute goal capped a better defensive display. Once they had equalised, the Black Cats looked the more likely victors as Liverpool ran out of steam. And it was an impressive second-half turnaround for Steve Bruce's men, who would have been happy to take a point back to the north east after coming under serious pressure in the first period. With four Liverpool players making their debuts, there was lots of encouragement for Kenny Dalglish and his decision to use Suarez was entirely justified despite the striker only returning to training on Monday following his Copa America exploits. After winning the South American championship with his country on 24 July, perhaps tiredness could have played a part in Suarez's misfortune from the spot after only six minutes. Yet he was sprightly enough to earn the penalty in the first place, charging down Richardson's pass near the halfway line and racing clear, only to be tripped by the left-back as he shaped to round keeper Simon Mignolet. The Sunderland defender looked fortunate not to earn a red card from referee Phil Dowd, but before the Black Cats could regroup they were behind when Adam's free-kick from the right was tucked in by the Uruguayan following Wes Brown's foul. Adam looked extremely comfortable during his first game in the centre of Liverpool's midfield. And his range of passing more than made up for Steven Gerrard's absence through injury, with the former Blackpool player going close with a rasping drive. Although Sunderland were timid early on, debutant Larsson caused Pepe Reina problems from his set-pieces, with the Spanish keeper saving from Brown's header before looking shaky on another occasion. Three of Liverpool's four-man midfield were making their first appearances for the hosts, with Dalglish preferring Jordan Henderson, up against his former club, on the right-hand side of midfield to Dirk Kuyt. Although Downing was deployed on the left, he almost marked his debut with a superb goal from the opposite flank on 34 minutes. Cutting in, he raced past several Sunderland defenders to smash a shot against the bar. Despite some occasionally rash challenges by both sides, the hosts were coasting and it wasn't until after the break that Steve Bruce's team improved. They had to. It was Larsson who turned their pressure into something more tangible when he volleyed in from Ahmed Elmohamady's right-wing cross. The Swede was given lots of room at the back post by Liverpool right-back John Flanagan but even so it was an expert finish. After a relatively quiet first period Andy Carroll began to get on the end of more of Liverpool's crosses, but even though Kuyt was introduced in place of Henderson, the fluency ran out of their play. Sunderland were working harder and with Suarez being withdrawn with 15 minutes to go, there was little danger behind their defence and a more evenness to the match. After conceding a controversial goal last season, Bruce would have been content to finish the game in relative comfort, but for both sides there were encouraging signs from their new-look players.