Sunderland 3-4 Chelsea

Chelsea took the better half of seven goals, most of them ridiculous in one way or another, with an exhilarating night's craziness at the Stadium of Light.

With two for the career highlights package from Eden Hazard; and another two in two minutes, one at each end, for Phil Bardsley – this game was at turns both tragic and comic.

Chelsea had their by now customary slow start.

With the quarter hour approaching, there was little to report – until their hosts won a free kick on the edge of the Blues' box.

Struck at the wall, an awkward deflection took the ball to the feet of Jack Colback – who slid it through to Jozy Altidore for an emphatic finish.

The lead lasted less than three minutes, though; Blues seizing on the resilience so amply displayed in the weekend's second half against Southampton.

Juan Mata, starting his second consecutive game, won a corner - which he sent flying over the box, and all it contained.

Hazard put the ball back in, from Chelsea's right; for Frank Lampard, unmarked, to leap and send a free header past Vito Mannone. Goal 208.

Blues looked surer of themselves after the equaliser, and took the lead on 36 minutes.

Having provided the assist for Chelsea's first, Hazard produced a goal of pure individual quality.

Taking the ball down the left he danced the quick step, as if auditioning for Strictly, bewitching half the Black Cats' defence. Then, cutting in, he fired past Mannone for a finish to make December's goal of the month package.

But if Hazard was dancing the quickstep, then the rest of the team were doing something that involved one step forward, followed by another backwards.

A Sunderland corner evaded most of their players swipes, before connecting with John O'Shea on the edge of the box. He sent a right footer in off John Terry's boot to square things again.

Whatever the Chelsea defence could give away, Hazard could retrieve.

Starting another move, he laid the ball off just inside the box to Lampard. The veteran took it a step or two, before back heeling to the young Belgian.

Hazard ran with the ball away from goal before, on a sixpence, turning and firing home.

If his first goal had been merely amazing, his second was certainly incredible.

That would have been enough for most, of a Wednesday night, but Sunderland were yet to play their joker.

Bardsley put past his own keeper with six minutes of the 90 to play, before atoning at the other end 120 seconds later.

Imagine this: these two are playing a cup tie up here in a fortnight.