Michy Batshuayi continued his impressive end to the season by netting twice from the bench in Chelsea's 5-1 rout of Sunderland at Stamford Bridge.
The Belgian rounded off the scoring for the champions with a couple of strikes in the dying embers, adding to earlier goals from Willian, Eden Hazard and Pedro.
It was the Black Cats who opened the scoring in West London, taking a shock lead through an early Javier Manquillo effort, but they fell to what always felt like an inevitable final-day defeat.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Premier League meeting between champions Chelsea and already-relegated Sunderland at Stamford Bridge. Top takes on bottom on the final day of an English top-flight campaign for the first time in 35 years, with the two sides experiencing completely contrasting fortunes across the duration of the season.
For Chelsea this afternoon presents a chance to keep the feel-good factor going for a little while longer, gearing up towards that big clash with Arsenal at Wembley Stadium in six days' time. Sunderland, on the other hand, are merely fighting for pride, knowing that even a rare victory in West London will not be enough to take them off the foot of the table.
TEAM NEWS!
CHELSEA XI: Courtois; Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Terry; Moses, Kante, Fabregas, Alonso; Willian, Diego Costa, Hazard
SUNDERLAND XI: Pickford; Manquillo, Jones, O'Shea, Lescott, Oviedo; Larsson, Cattermole, Rodwell; Borini, Januzaj
Starting with a look at the home team, manager Antonio Conte has reverted back to something close to his strongest possible XI. The exception to that is a start for John Terry in the heart of defence for a second game running, as he runs out at Stamford Bridge for one last time. It is the Englishman's 717th appearance for the Blues across a 22-year association with the club; a run that includes a whopping 16 major trophies.
Conte makes six changes in all form the side that scraped a 4-3 win over Watford here six days ago, with Cesar Azpilicueta another of those to retain his place in the side - he could join a rare club of players to have played every minute of a title-winning Premier League campaign. Worryingly for the Black Cats, Diego Costa, Willian and Eden Hazard are selected up top for the home side.
Michy Batshuayi will consider himself unfortunate to drop down to the bench after scoring two in two, including a goal on his first league start last time out, but Conte was always going to bring back the big guns for this last match before the cup final. There was a decision to be made over who would partner Player of the Year N'Golo Kante in defensive midfield, and it is Cesc Fabregas who has been given the nod today - his 100th league appearance for the club.
In terms of the visitors, David Moyes really has named a makeshift side. Moyes announced in the build-up to this trip to West London that he would be without 11 players - make that 12, because leading marksman Jermain Defoe is absent through injury. The England international, who has 15 goals in 40 appearances overall this term, had featured in near enough every minute of the Black Cats' campaign up until this point.
Lamine Kone and Didier Ndong were the latest players to pull out of the squad after suffering dead legs recently, joining nine others on a rather shocking injury list. Duncan Watmore, Jan Kirchhoff, Steven Pienaar, George Honeyman, Wahbi Khazri, Jason Denayer, Victor Anichebe and Papy Djilobodji are the others who are deemed unfit to play a part in this end-of-season showdown.
Not for the first time this season, then, Moyes has his hands tied a little. Fabio Borini therefore leads the visitors' attack, starting just ahead of Adnan Januzaj who will be playing his final game for the club. Billy Jones, Javier Manquillo, Bryan Oviedo, John O'Shea and Joleon Lescott have all been named in the starting lineup, presumably meaning that Sunderland will go with five at the back.
BENCH WATCH!
CHELSEA SUBS: Begovic, Zouma, Cahill, Chalobah, Matic, Pedro, Batshuayi
SUNDERLAND SUBS: Mannone, Love, Gibson, Maja, Asoro, Embleton, Gooch
With 12 players absent Moyes has little choice but to name a string of youngsters on his bench; 18-year-old midfielder Elliot Embleton among them. Far more experience as far as the hosts are concerned, boasting the likes of Gary Cahill, Nemanja Matic and Pedro through the spine, while Batshuayi will more than likely be given another chance to shine from the bench. If reports overnight are to be believed, the Belgian is off to West Ham United on loan next season.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has made six changes to his starting lineup, bringing back the majority of his big hitters. There is a 717th appearance for John Terry in the heart of defence, retaining his place from the win over Watford here six days ago, and Cesar Azpilicueta can become an ever-present if he lasts the full 90 minutes. Things look bleak for Sunderland, however, as 12 injuries have forced David Moyes to name a makeshift side.
Very little to play for on the face of it this afternoon as far as both sides are concerned, then, with Chelsea already wrapping up a second Premier League title in three years and Sunderland being condemned to the drop a few weeks back. Still, another chance to see the Blues up close - the undisputed best side in the division across the duration of the 37 games so far, and a team that can hold their own when it comes to debating the finest ever champions.
It may be well documented by now, but Conte's switch to a three-man defence after a shaky opening couple of months at Stamford Bridge really was the big turning point in this impressive title win - his fourth in a row in club football, following a trio of Serie A crowns with Juventus. The Blues would go on a 13-match winning run to equal the all-time Premier League record, climbing from mid-table and to the summit where they have remained for a good few months.
They never truly looked like throwing away their sizeable lead, although credit must go to Tottenham Hotspur for at least putting a tiny bit of pressure on when reducing the gap from 14 points to four. A 1-0 win away to West Bromwich Albion a little over a week ago secure the title, leaving them with two dead-rubbers against Watford and today's opponents Sunderland on home soil. The first of those was a hugely entertaining affair; the Blues edging a seven-goal thriller.
Plenty of tributes have been paid to Conte over the past nine days or so following his latest triumphant season. The best aspect of the Italian's management has been his ability to spur on every member of his squad, while also keeping certain fringe players - Fabregas and Terry among them - happy and feeling as though they have played their part. The passionate ex-Juve chief has managed his group to near perfection.
It has not been the greatest of title races, it is fair to say, but the Blues' slight wobble when losing twice in the space of four games did offer the chance for the season to go down to the wire. Apart from a disappointing September, those defeats to Crystal Palace and Manchester United in quick succession proved to be a rare low point for Conte, who did not panic and has guided his side to a perfect run since then.
DID YOU KNOW? Chelsea are vying for a 15th Premier League home win in 16 outings, with Crystal Palace the only side to leave here with anything since September. The Blues are also attempting to become the first English top-flight team to win 30 matches in a single 38-game season. That certainly offers an incentive not to just play out this game in first gear, although even if they did you would still fancy them to pick up a comfortable win.
Chelsea have amassed 80 points from a possible 93 since back-to-back defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal in a winless September, having also slipped up away to Swansea City in a 2-2 draw that month. It is a phenomenal run of form, which could yet culminate in Conte becoming just the third man to win a top-flight and FA Cup double in his first season on English shores. For that to happen, the West London outfit must overcome Arsenal at Wembley next weekend.
The Blues also top the Premier League scoring charts this season with 80 in all - so much for them being 'defensive specialists', in the words of former boss Jose Mourinho. Only once before have Chelsea registered more goals in a single Prem campaign, netting a whopping 103 in 2009-10. Diego Costa has been responsible for 20 of those, leaving him six adrift of Harry Kane in the race for the Golden Boot - too big a gap to make up.
Antonio Conte may have endured a shaky start to his first season outside of Italian football, overlooking a winless September that saw the Blues pick up one point from games against Swansea City, Liverpool and Arsenal. As has been well documented in recent weeks, the former Juventus boss switched to his favoured three-man backline and the rest, as they say, is history.
Far less for Sunderland fans to look forward to at the moment, however, with their side heading for the Championship for the first time in a decade. It remains to be seen whether they will make an instant return in the same way as North-East rivals Newcastle United, who were backed financially and were always likely to bounce back at the first time of asking. As Moyes has been at pains to point out, the Black Cats will have to cut the cloth accordingly.
Moyes's men have spent 261 days in the bottom three, which pretty much says it all. The Scotsman has had his hands tied both financially and in terms of the personnel available to him, but it must be remembered that he retained the core of the squad that beat the drop last term and he only strengthened it in the summer. The Black Cats were always likely to be at the bottom end once more, but this group has massively underperformed and they go down as one of the division's all-time worst performers.
The aura of gloom on show from Moyes has certainly not helped, either, supposedly earning him the nickname of 'The Energy Vampire' from some inside the club. The ex-Everton and Manchester United boss suggested recently that he will stay at the helm to help guide the club back up in 2017-18, but reports in the British press overnight put a different spin on it. This could, therefore, be his final game in charge.
Moyes also suggested recently that Sunderland will be the "biggest club" in the Championship, which supporters of Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Leeds United - among others - did not take kindly to. Defoe, absent today due to injury, will not be a part of their promotion push next season, while Jordan Pickford will surely be on his way if a bid in the region of £15m-£20m is made. The £30m Moyes is asking for is, quite frankly, ridiculous for a youngster boasting just one year's experience.
Sunderland have won just six games all season, three of which came during a four-game spell in November and December. Since Christmas they have beaten only Crystal Palace and Hull City, the latter providing supporters with a rare chance to smile as they essentially dragged the Tigers down with them. That was a snatch-and-grab display on show at the KCOM Stadium, and they gave a decent account of themselves at the Emirates Stadium in midweek, but what we saw against Swansea a week ago was dismal.
A similar performance to the one witnessed in that home meeting with a Swansea side fighting for their lives and Sunderland will be on the end of a thrashing today, make no mistake about it. They have lost 10 of their last 13 games, winning one of those and failing to score in 11. It is also the third time that the Black Cats have finished at the foot of the Premier League; a competition record that they share with Nottingham Forest.
To continue the theme of negative stats, Sunderland have also failed to score in 20 of their league games this term - the worst figure in the division. Their only win in 15 final-day attempts came against west Ham United in 2011, meanwhile, losing 11 in that time. It is set to be another tricky afternoon for the visitors, then, as the curtain comes down on their Premier League stint. For just how long, only time will tell.
With kickoff at Stamford Bridge now less than five minutes away, let us check out some pre-match thoughts from both camps.
Antonio Conte: "To change our system was very important. We found the right suit for these players. Then we continued to work very hard, but 'very hard' is easy to say. Everyone can say they work hard, but the reality is very different. We did this. We worked very hard every single day."
David Moyes: "We've had a tough year but we'll dust ourselves down, get ready to go again. Sunderland will carry big expectations and they could arguably be the biggest club in the Championship next year. I think we have a core here and we need to keep those players. We need to find a way of adding players who have quality."
The Chelsea players have made their way out on to the field of play, welcomed by a guard of honour from their opponents. There is a real strong feel-good factor around these parts at the moment, with the Blues returning to their best form this term and favourites to end it with a famous league and cup double. Sunderland will look to halt the party, but to do so they will need to pick up just a seventh Premier League win of the season.
KICKOFF! Chelsea, skippered by John Terry for one final time today, will be looking to end their season on a real high. Here to potentially spoil the party is a Sunderland side that will finish bottom regardless of this afternoon's result.
David Luiz is in the centre of Chelsea's back three, meaning Terry will take up a spot to the Brazilian's left. Luiz trips Borini and the visitors have a free kick in a promising position, which a couple of players are stood over.
GOAL! CHELSEA 0-1 SUNDERLAND (JAVIER MANQUILLO)
They say anything can happen on the final day of the season - well this Manquillo opener just goes to emphasise that point. From the free kick, Larsson fired the ball through the box and Manquillo was in the right place to bullet it past Courtois.
Sunderland actually controlling the game at the moment, looking to work the ball into the final third. Conte, as we have grown to know over the past nine months or so, will not be happy with what he has seen early on.
GOAL! CHELSEA 1-1 SUNDERLAND (WILLIAN)
Chelsea finally move out of first gear and in the end they toy with Sunderland before levelling things up. Alonso sent his free kick against the post and, after the hosts failed to clear their lines, Willian was the man who finally put his boot through the ball to find the net.
CHANCE! Hazard should have put Chelsea ahead for the first time today, having managed to get on the end of a cross from the right. The ball was a little behind him but in the end it looked as though his first touch let him down, allowing Sunderland to clear their lines.
SAVE! Alonso came close with that free kick he sent back off the post in the build-up to Chelsea's leveller, and on this occasion Pickford was required to keep out his stinging drive from range with a decent stop.
Rodwell gives away another silly free kick, which resulted in Chelsea finding the net the last time he did so. Luiz sent it into a danger area, where Costa was waiting to volley wide of the target. Good pressure from the Blues.
The Black Cats made a fairly bright start to the match, but the past 10 minuted have been dominated by the Blues who are created plenty of openings. Just the two shots on goal so far, though, one of which evaded Pickford.
Victor Moses the latest to try his luck, sending a deflected effort over the bar. Just complete one-way traffic at the moment, as the champions look to edge themselves in front after recovering from an early setback.
Luiz climbs highest but cannot keep his header on target. Cahill has been sent to warm-up by Conte, presumably due to an injury for one of the Blues' three defenders. One to keep an eye on over the next few minutes.
Cattermole with a woeful effort from range. Cahill is now being stripped down and is ready to come out. The 26th minute is in sight - John Terry's number - so could we see an early exit for the long-standing skipper?
CHELSEA SUB! Twenty six minutes played, and here comes that change - John Terry, on his 717th outing for Chelsea, is replaced by Gary Cahill. Twenty-two years at the club and this is the last time we will see him at The Bridge. Great ovation from supporters!
Well that was all rather bizarre. Terry took a good couple of minutes to exit the field - you can hardly blame him. What a servant he has been for the Blues, winning 16 major honours in all - two-thirds of Chelsea's haul in their entire history.
There did appear to be a desperation to get Terry on the scoresheet in the opening quarter of the game, and now it is clear to see why. It did not take long for the Blues to find their groove once more, with Willian dragging the ball wide.
CLOSE! Willian seems desperate to prove a point this afternoon, with the cup final on the horizon. He has already bagged one and come close with another, curling a shot narrowly wide via an important Jones deflection.
The match does, unfortunately, have a testimonial feel to it - not helped by that choreographed Terry change. Costa on the periphery at the moment, unable to truly get into the game. Sunderland barely able to get out of their own half.
For all of Chelsea's dominance, we remain level with 36 minutes on the clock. Another corner is won by the hosts, which Willian swings into the hands of Pickford. A case of the Black Cats holding out for the next nine minutes.
YELLOW CARD! Pathetic from Costa, who puts his hands to his face and falls to the ground when caught by O'Shea. No denying that the Irishman made contact, but it was six of one because Costa did likewise. The Spaniard rightly booked.
Chelsea have been unable to truly make their dominance count in this first half, testing Pickford just once since levelling up early on. Moyes will be happy enough with the way things have panned out, with half time five minutes away.
How often do we see Costa have a running battle with an opponent? Too often. O'Shea appears to be the victim of the day, conceding a foul which leaves the Spain international a little upset, even more so when his rival escaped a booking.
SAVE! The half started with Sunderland surprising their opponents by finding the net, and it so nearly ended in that manner. A free kick was not dealt with and O'Shea probably should have done better when given a clean shot on Courtois' goal.
HALF TIME: CHELSEA 1-1 SUNDERLAND
Referee Neil Swarbrick brings the first half to a close. Sunderland took a surprise lead early on through Javier Manquillo, five minutes before Willian blasted home a leveller. It is a half that will be more memorable for a substitution, however, as John Terry bid farewell to Stamford Bridge 26 minutes in. With a 15-minute break upon us, it seems like a good time to point you in the direction of the Sports Mole Reader Awards for 2016-17.
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The Black Cats were ahead with just a few minutes on the clock, capitalising on some slack defending at the back from Chelsea as Javier Manquillo rifled the ball past Thibaut Courtois after a deflected free kick fell kindly to him. Having failed to score in 11 of their last 13 matches, it was a rare occasion for the travelling fans to smile, but their joy lasted for all of five minutes before Willian found a way through to level things up.
The move began with Marcos Alonso sending his free kick against the upright and, after the visitors failed to clear their lines, Willian eventually put his boot through the ball to restore some parity. From that point on it was all one-way traffic for the majority of the first half, with Alonso testing Jordan Pickford with a stinger of a strike and Eden Hazard somehow failing to convert when picked out a few yards from goal.
Billy Jones produced a vital block to send Willian's curler narrowly wide of the far post as Chelsea pressed for a second, as they looked to pick up a 16th league win in 17 outings - Crystal Palace the only team to leave here with anything since September. Sunderland had a big chance to restore their advantage right on the brink of half time, however, as from another free kick the ball this time fell to John O'Shea, who was the wrong man in the right place as he failed to beat Courtois.
The first half had an almost testimonial feel to it, with Chelsea wrapping up the title with time to spare and Sunderland already confirmed to go down as the bottom-placed side, giving Antonio Conte the chance to give long-serving skipper John Terry a rather choreographed send-off. When 26 minutes had elapsed Conte brought Terry off, bringing an end to his 22-year association to Stamford Bridge on what was likely his 717th and final outing for the club.
Could we see any further changes from Conte at the break? Cahill has already been brought on and both Matic and Pedro will need some further playing time ahead of the FA Cup final. The two sets of players are now back on the field of play ahead of the second half...
CHELSEA SUBS: Begovic, Zouma, Chalobah, Matic, Pedro, Batshuayi
SUNDERLAND SUBS: Mannone, Love, Gibson, Maja, Asoro, Embleton, Gooch
RESTART! We are back under way at Stamford Bridge, where neither manager has made any further changes. Luis kicks things off with a shot from all of 70 yards, which was never going to get the beating of Pickford.
YELLOW CARD! Billy Jones the second player to be cautioned. The 30-year-old went in on Eden Hazard from behind, leaving referee Neil Swarbrick with little choice but to reach into his pocket early in the half.
Costa still unable to really get himself int the game, but he does appear to have calmed down a little compared to the closing stages of the first half. Chelsea have 40 minutes to find a goal and end their season with a win.
SAVE! Decent stop from Courtois a few moments ago to keep out a Rodwell header. Sunderland doing more than enough to keep their opponents out at the moment, while also creating the odd chance of their own.
Matic, Pedro and Batshuayi are all currently warming up for the home side, with Conte perhaps tempted to make a change or two. Good play from Moses, sending in a shot-cross towards the back post where Luiz could not quite convert.
The atmosphere has gone a little flat around Stamford Bridge at the moment. This is a dead-rubber in every sense of the word, but the Blues will not want to end their season with a home draw against the bottom-placed side.
Batshuayi is the player Conte will turn to next, hoping to add some attacking spark to his side following a slow start to this second half. Costa is likely to be the player to make way, having failed to truly grow into the match.
GOAL! CHELSEA 2-1 SUNDERLAND (EDEN HAZARD)
Conte may think twice about making that change, because Costa has just played the ball into the path of Hazard for the Belgian to do the rest. Goal number 16 of the season for the forward, as he put his foot through the ball and get the beating of Pickford.
SUBS! Costa does indeed make way for Chelsea, waving to all four sections of the ground in what could be his last ever appearance here. Batshuayi on in his place, aiming to make it three goals in three games. Gooch on for Januzaj as far as the visitors are concerned.
Great play from Chelsea, as they again step things up and so nearly grab a decisive third. Willian thought he had picked out Batshuayi with his through-ball, but it had just a tad too much on it and ran out of play.
The Blues cruising at the moment, although it is worth pointing out that they only have a one-goal lead. Sunderland have scored once and should have bagged another late in the first half - do not rule them out just yet.
Moses twists one way and then the other, before sending the ball into a central position where Rodwell was waiting. The Black Cats midfielder stuck a leg out and was just glad to see the ball drop past the post, rather than trickle past Pickford.
CHELSEA SUB! A third and final change made by Conte, as he brings on Pedro for Hazard. The Blues have been far from their best this afternoon, but they are well on top and look good value for a third at this rate.
The minutes continue to tick down and Chelsea do not seem all that concerned about adding to the scoring. The Blues still dominant without really creating much, ensuring that Sunderland still have a chance of nicking something from the game.
Sunderland heading for an 11th defeat in 14 final-day outings as things stand. The odds were always stacked against them today with 12 players, including their leading scorer, missing out, but they have not looked all that bad.
GOAL! CHELSEA 3-1 SUNDERLAND (PEDRO)
A scoreline that now reflects what we have seen over the 38 games of the campaign. An error at the back gifts a third of the afternoon to the Blues, as Lescott and Pickford got in a muddle and Pedro headed into an empty net. Hopeful ball over the top, which Lescott had to deal with, but he did not realise that his keeper had raced well off his line.
Into the final 10 minutes in West London and Chelsea can now truly relax knowing that they have the win sealed. Defeat or a draw today would not have been disastrous, of course, but it is always nice to round things off in style.
Plenty of chants from the home stands now, failing their players and indeed the man at the centre of it all, a certain Antonio Conte. A slow start for them not until today but also this season, though they are deserving winners on both fronts.
Just a case of seeing out the final six minutes of the match now, plus probably around two minutes of added time if referee Neil Swarbrick is feeling kind. The Black Cats put together a rare attack that comes to very little.
Think both sides would take the full-time whistle around about now, with the game being played at walking pace. Moyes looks like he is about to make the second of his three available changes, with Gibson the man being readied.
SUNDERLAND SUB! Darron Gibson does indeed come on, taking over from Lee Cattermole for these closing minutes. Half a chance for Azpilicueta, who finessed the ball into the side-netting from the edge of the box.
GOAL! CHELSEA 4-1 SUNDERLAND (MICHY BATSHUAYI)
Batshuayi joins the scoring in the final minute or normal time, tucking the ball under Pickford after getting on the end of Pedro's perfectly-weighted through-ball. The celebrations really can begin now as far as the Blues are concerned - another convincing win.
GOAL! CHELSEA 5-1 SUNDERLAND (MICHY BATSHUAYI)
We were only meant to play two added minutes, but Batshuayi tucks home his second of the afternoon after the allotted time, cutting inside and beating Pickford. A little harsh on Sunderland, in truth, but those home fans are loving every minute of this.
FULL TIME: CHELSEA 5-1 SUNDERLAND
Referee Neil Swarbrick brings the match to a close, meaning a big win for Chelsea to conclude a memorable league campaign. They may have started slowly but they completely dominated once levelling up through Pedro, although Sunderland will rightly argue that a four-goal loss was a little harsh - two of those strikes coming in added time.
That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events at Stamford Bridge. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, while reaction from this and all the day's other games can be found elsewhere on the site in the coming hours. A reminder that there is still time to vote in the Sports Mole Reader Awards, too, which you can do so via the link below. Thanks for joining!
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