A 62nd minute penalty by England striker Kevin Phillips - his fifth goal of the season - gave Sunderland a hard-fought victory in a game which started 45 minutes late through a power failure.
Stockton referee Jeff Winter awarded the spot kick for a blatant shirt-pull on Republic of ireland striker Niall Quinn by Dutch defender Mario Melchiot.
Tempers flared in the 66th minute and Sunderland's republic of ireland winger Kevin Kilbane and England fullback Graeme Le Saux were given their marching orders after an angry touchline clash.
Sunderland dominated the first half and came close to scoring two or three goals. A brilliant shot from Argentinian teenager Julio Arca came back off the underside of the crossbar and appeared to bounce over the line before rebounding back into play in the 7thy minute and Dutch World Cup goalkeeper Ed de Goey made two spectacular one-handed saves to deny Kilbane and Quinn.
Chelsea, beaten 4-1 in the corresponding fixture last season, were never given time on the ball and hardly tested home keeper Thomas Sorensen.
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