The unbreakable spirit which courses through Peter Reid's Sunderland side was personified by Don Hutchison at Stamford Bridge as they revived their own season and brought Chelsea's recent resurgence to an end.

On a ground where they had conceded 10 goals on two previous visits, with their last league win two months ago and against a side who had not previously lost at home under Claudio Ranieri, the odds were stacked against them.

However, Sunderland showed the character to arrest their relative slide down the table as they summarily brought Chelsea back down to earth even though the Blues had twice been ahead.

While Julio Arca shone in midfield and Gavin McCann, scorer of their third goal, grew in stature as the game progressed, it was Hutchison who was the difference between the two sides.

He scored twice and set up McCann's goal while Kevin Phillips, who had not scored in the league since January 1, claimed Sunderland's fourth despite a suspicion of an own goal following a blunder by goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini.

So it was yet another false dawn for Chelsea following their first Premiership away win of the season just 10 days ago at West Ham.

If that was not bad enough for Ranieri, the Chelsea boss was booed by the home crowd for taking off winger Jesper Gronkjaer with 20 minutes left when they were chasing the game.

Sweet revenge nevertheless for a Sunderland side who had lost 6-2 and 4-0 on their two previous visits and had dropped from second place to fifth in the table before this game.

Even without the injured Niall Quinn, they quickly seized the initiative only for Chelsea to weather the early storm and raid on the counter-attack with devastating effect.

They should have taken the lead when Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink controversially broke the offside trap and squared the ball for Gronkjaer to tap into an empty net, only for the winger to then be ruled offside himself.

Replays showed the Danish international was probably standing level with Hasselbaink, but Chelsea were undaunted at this stage.

After Hutchison had gone close with a snap-shot, a well-worked corner routine involving Hasselbaink led to Gudjohnsen turning smartly and sending over a cross-shot that Desailly headed home from close range.

Sunderland are hardly renowned for buckling in the face of pressure and as the temperature rose amid clashes between Dennis Wise and Emerson Thome, as well as Hutchison and Frank Leboeuf, they fought back.

Arca's free-kick was delivered straight into the path of Hutchison and even though the Scottish international was standing with his back to goal and was marked by Leboeuf, he still managed to flick the ball past Cudicini.

A free-flowing game swept from end to end, with Hasselbaink blazing a first-time shot well over the bar when unmarked, but then Gudjohnsen broke clear again.

Despite initially looking offside he was actually played onside by Jody Craddock on the far side of the pitch and having paused to turn back around Thome, he finished via the underside of the crossbar.

The Icelandic international wasted another opening just before the break and it was a costly miss as Sunderland emerged invigorated after the break.

Phillips finally started to come alive and when Arca swept the ball out to him on the right he sent over a deep cross which Hutchison met at the far post and headed, all too easily, past Cudicini.

The Chelsea keeper did parry a long-range effort by McCann but he could do nothing to deny the recent England debutant on 60 minutes.

This time Hutchison was involved in the build-up, with Chelsea's back four unable to deal with his long ball, and McCann was allowed to muscle his way past Desailly to bundle his shot into the net.

Hasselbaink hit the sidenetting but after Ranieri brought on Gianfranco Zola for Gronkjaer and swapped his formation, Sunderland still went 4-2 up with 12 minutes left.

Cudicini failed to control substitute John Terry's back-pass and McCann's superb challenge led to the ball lobbing into the air for Phillips, challenged by Desailly, to bundle the ball home.

Wise's frustration almost boiled over towards the end but it was a victory that Sunderland fully deserved. Chelsea, meanwhile, are left to rebuild their faltering season once again.

Teams

Chelsea: Cudicini, Leboeuf, Desailly, Ferrer (Terry 70), Le Saux, Wise, Stanic (Poyet 57), Jokanovic, Gronkjaer (Zola 70), Gudjohnsen, Hasselbaink.

Subs Not Used: de Goey, Dalla Bona.

Goals: Desailly 15, Gudjohnsen 38.

Sunderland: Sorensen, Carteron, Gray, Thome, Arca (Williams 72), McCann, Kilbane, Craddock, Schwarz, Hutchison, Phillips (Dichio 88).

Subs Not Used: Macho, Varga, Butler.

Goals: Hutchison 28, 52, McCann 61, Phillips 79.

Att: 34,981

Ref: P Durkin (Dorset).