Liam Lawrence put Sunderland in a stunning lead after just 12 minutes but Hernan Crespo brought Chelsea level midway through the first-half.

The visitors grabbed the winner after the break through Arjen Robben's deflected shot before the Dutch international received his marching orders because of celebrating with the crowd.

The 'Blues' raised their point tally to 61 at the top of the standings, leading second-place Manchester United with massive 16 points.

Lawrence gave the basement side a dream start when he bounced on to a weak clearance from Chelsea captain John Terry to poke a left-footer home.

Chelsea tied the score in the 28th minute when Joe Cole headed the ball into the path of Crespo who sent the equalizer into the back of the net.

Robben secured the hard-earned win nine minutes after the hour mark with a long-range shot that touched a defender's head and went home past Sunderland keeper Kelvin Davis.

The international winger ran into the crowd area to celebrate with the club fans but the referee handed him his second yellow card of the match and sent him off.

In other match, Martin Albrechtsen scored after the break to guide West Bromwich to a 1-0 victory at Wigan.