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Chelsea hammered at home by rampant Sunderland

Asamoah Gyan made it two © Getty Images

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Chelsea saw their lead at the top of the table slashed to two points as they slumped to a shock 3-0 defeat to Sunderland.

Goals from Nedum Onuoha, Danny Welbeck and Asamoah Gyan heralded the end of Chelsea's 100% record at Stamford Bridge, and inflicted their second defeat in three matches.

The Blues entered the match looking to protect their unblemished defensive record at home, but that run was put under threat by the absence of first choice centre-back partnership Alex and John Terry. Chelsea's rearguard had an uncharacteristically generous look to it during an evenly-matched first half, allowing Welbeck to twice go close before Onuoha handed the visitors the lead.

The right-back, on loan from Manchester City, waltzed through the centre of the Chelsea defence before sending Petr Cech the wrong way with a composed finish. The opener was the culmination of ten minutes of sustained pressure from the Black Cats, whose only moment of real concern in the half was when Yuri Zhirkov blasted wide after an incisive run.

If Sunderland were braced for a second-half onslaught, they didn't betray any signs of fear as they continued where they left off at the end of the first period. Gyan, leading the line in the absence of Darren Bent, put the finishing touches on a fluent move as Steve Bruce's side doubled their advantage.

Chelsea enjoyed plenty of possession in the late stages, but their attacks lacked the incisiveness required to hurt Sunderland. The visitors, who picked up an impressive point at Spurs in midweek, sealed a deserved victory when Welbeck pounced on an Ashley Cole error to make it three.

Earlier in the day, Arsenal climbed into second in the table with a battling 2-1 triumph over Everton at Goodison Park. Strikes from Bacary Sagna and Cesc Fabregas clinched the three points for the Gunners, while Tim Cahill scored a late consolation as the Toffees pushed in vain for a dramatic equaliser during a fraught closing period.

Cesc Fabregas put Arsenal ahead © Getty Images

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Having surrendered so tamely against Newcastle at the Emirates last week, Arsene Wenger's men have now put their title charge back on track with two successive wins. Sagna edged them into an early lead in the 37th minute when he blasted the ball home from an acute angle inside the penalty area after fine approach work from Samir Nasri.

The Toffees were unlucky to fall behind, having worked several decent openings in a closely-fought opening period. Seeking to seize control of the match in the second half, Wenger replaced the ineffectual Jack Wilshere with Denilson - and the switch reaped immediate dividends as the Brazilian set up Fabregas to lash in a second two minutes after the interval.

After struggling to find themselves in the ascendancy for most of the second half - with Nasri and Marouane Chamakh missing fine chances for Arsenal - Everton finally succeeded in pinning their opponents back in the last ten minutes. Lukasz Fabianski continued to repair his bruised reputation with a flurry of fine saves before Cahill bludgeoned the ball into the net after latching on to Louis Saha's knockdown.

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