Chelsea 6-2 Sunderland
Champions, Champions
By 40 Years A Blue
January 13 2006
As part of the build-up towards this Sunday's Premiership clash between the Champions and current leaders of the Premiership against the team at the bottom of the Premiership holding everybody else up, Sunderland.....
.......Chelsea TV showed full highlights of a Premiership game at Stamford Bridge back in 1997 when Chelsea ran out 6-2 winners. What a contrast then to today's team and the way Stamford Bridge looked as well. For example, on the day this game was being played the West Stand was in its original form - wooden seats and the famous 'benches' guarded by the 'white wall' which separated the spectators from the pitch. The Shed End. Demolished, gone forever as a terrace, being re-built as as all-seater stand and surprisingly enough the advertising hoardings in front of the New Shed structure and behind the goal blazed away in Crystal Palace Red and Blue and correct me if I am wrong, the company's name showing on these hoardings were the same that featured on the same coloured Palace shirts that same season. The game itself and importantly the players and management. For Chelsea the manager was Ruud Gullit and 'Cheer Up Peter Reid was the Black Cat's manager. On the Chelsea side that day, the team was: Frode Grodas, Andy Myers, Steve Clarke, Frank Sinclair, Dan Petrescu, Scott Minto, Craig Burley, Roberto Di Matteo, Dennis Wise, Mark Hughes, Gianfranco Zola. Substitutes used that day were: Paul Parker, Gianluca Vialli Sunderland' Team that day (and I apologise for any mistakes and omissions was:) Lionel Perez, Gareth Hall, Michael Bridges, David Kelly, John Mullen, Kevin Ball, Paul Bracewell, Michael Gray, Ord, Andy Melville and Ubike. Subs used that day were: Lee Howey, Alex Rae, Paul Stewart. Two goals by Zola and Frank Sinclair in the last seven minutes of the first half put Chelsea 2-0 at half-time. Romanian Dan Petrescu put Chelsea out of sight on 51 minutes 3-0, but the two substitutions made at half-time by Peter Reid, Paul Stewart and Alex Rae, each scored a goal within two minutes of each other and for a time Chelsea were struggling. It took a while for Chelsea to regain control of proceedings when Mark Hughes scored the first of his two goals on seventy-eight minutes and then again on ninety minutes to make it 4-2 and 5-2 respectively. Straight from Sunderland's kick-off restart, Di Matteo broke away and scored Chelsea's sixth. 6-2 it ended and that year Chelsea went on the lift the FA Cup, where Di Matteo scored the fastest ever FA Cup Final goal. 40 YEARS A BLUE!!