Sunderland on the brink of safety
Beat Everton on Wednesday and Sunderland are safe
SUNDERLAND 3
(Wahbi Khazri 41, Fabio Borini 67,
Jermain Defoe 70)
CHELSEA 2
(Diego Costa 14,
Nemanja Matic 45+3)
The Great Escape remains very much alive and kicking for Sunderland.
Forget their fortuitous nickname, the Black Cats must also have four-leaf clovers, rabbits' feet and horseshoes in their boots as they continue their fight to stay in the English Premier League.
The fourth attempt looks set to be a charm.
Their destiny remains very much in their own hands and Sam Allardyce's long-standing reputation as the ultimate Teflon manager remaining intact following yesterday's valiant 3-2 comeback win against Chelsea.
The EPL trapdoor continues to beckon, yet, somehow, Sunderland always find themselves perched safely on its hinges.
Even Harry Houdini would find himself marvelling at the Stadium of Light's current party trick of perennial escapism.
There will not be much better opportunities to beat the drop than this; finally seizing the upper hand in their bid to see Norwich City and their arch-rivals Newcastle United as the final two clubs condemned to life in the Championship next season.
As both sides drew a blank yesterday, Sunderland emphatically hit the target.
Win against an embattled Everton on Wednesday, and Mission Impossible will be accomplished without the need for a nail-biting finale on May 16.
But Lady Luck was not always smiling against Chelsea.
MISFORTUNE
A stroke of misfortune set about their potential undoing, as DeAndre Yedlin's deflection off a Gary Cahill pass gifted Diego Costa his first goal for the visitors in the EPL since March 1.
It was the 21st time Sunderland had conceded the opening goal this season - a position from which they have managed to recover only a damning four points in total.
They can now lay claim to a further three thanks to a precious and potentially status-saving win.
Wahbri Khazri's response, a thundering long-range volley to redress the balance, could have won this encounter in its own right, but it was grit rather than glory which finally saw them over the line against Guus Hiddink's side.
A game-changing introduction of Duncan Watmore, the hero in the win over Norwich last month, was the catalyst for a breathless two goals in the space of three minutes.
The first from Fabio Borini revived hope among those in the stands.
Jermain Defoe's decisive winner, after trapping a deflected cross, made Sunderland believe in the impossible again.
Allardyce's increasing immunity from the indignities of relegation makes him a match made in heaven with Sunderland.
The survival specialist has taken on more audacious challenges, but this may prove his greatest triumph.
Wigan Athletic bowed out in 2013 after surviving back-to-back scares.
Aston Villa finally succumbed just three weeks ago after spending four successive campaigns clambering away from the drop.
Sunderland have consistently toyed with relegation.
For now, however, they appear destined to stand as the last of the Mohicans.
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