John Terry bids emotional farewell as champions Chelsea hammer relegated Sunderland

Chelsea 5 Sunderland 1: The captain received a guard of honour after being substituted in the 26th-minute

Chelsea survived a scare to beat Sunderland and sign off in style (Getty)

It was a day that was more a prize-giving and a leaving do than a football match, and that was made all too clear when John Terry went off for his farewell in the 26th minute, but Chelsea at least completed the formality - for that is what it is against Sunderland - of winning the game. In that, they actually broke a Premier League record with this 5-1 by becoming the first side to win 30 games in a season, and set themselves up for next Saturday’s FA Cup final against Arsenal.

The winner in Antonio Conte will be pleased at that, the club icon in Terry was meanwhile delighted with his farewell.

The outgoing Chelsea captain might be considered one of the last of an old-fashioned breed of centre-halves, but his last act at Stamford Bridge as a player felt very ‘modern football’. In the 26th minute of the game, with the moment of course picked to acknowledge his shirt number, Terry was taken off for Gary Cahill so that he could bask in the crowd’s full acclaim. The supporters already had a huge banner saying ‘thank you for everything’ before the game, and there was even a makeshift guard of honour, as he got hearty hugs from so many teammates and his manager Conte.

Javier Manquillo gave Sunderland a shock early lead (Getty)

It was obviously a nicely touching moment for Terry and all at Chelsea, but it was a slightly odd one from a football perspective, as a lot of the Sunderland players just looked on in the middle of what was notionally a competitive match. Some of those Sunderland players will have seen this before, mind, given that they happened to be the opposition the last time Chelsea did this - for Didier Drogba - at the end of the 2014-15 season.

Those at Chelsea say this was the idea of Terry himself, and that Conte was happy to go along with it. The crowd were more than happy to go along with it and, for all people might quibble with the moment, it would be difficult to be churlish about the gusty and very loud cheer the captain received.

Willian got Chelsea back onto level terms (Getty)

There can be no doubting his legacy or status here.

In terms of the actual football, it was Sunderland who were cheering first, as Javier Manquillo lashed them into the lead after just three minutes. He found himself completely free at the edge of the box when a set-piece bounced towards him and, although Terry was actually the closest man, it was not his fault as the right-back powered the ball high into the net past Thibaut Courtois.

Sunderland were at that point looking quite vibrant and lively, and long way from the moribund side that got them relegated and could well get David Moyes out of the job, but - like their season - that challenge didn’t last long.

Hazard celebrates with Diego Costa (Getty)

With a side that is likely to be very close to their FA Cup final XI, Chelsea soon began to overwhelm Sunderland, the equaliser almost came through sheer force of numbers. Marcos Alonso hit the bar with a brilliant free-kick and, after the scramble that followed, the ball eventually came out to Willian who rifled it past Jordan Pickford.

Full service was restored on the hour, as Eden Hazard scored a goal of arguably even greater quality, to make it 2-1. He powered it past Pickford, after some fine hold-up play by Diego Costa.

The Spanish international eventually went off for title-winning hero Michy Batshuayi, to a lot of cheers and a few plaintive looks, and it remains to be seen whether this will be Costa’s last game at Stamford Bridge too.

Pedro extended Chelsea's lead (Getty)

It was not the last goal of the game, nor the last moment of calamity in Sunderland’s pitiful season. On 79 minutes, Joleon Lescott attempted to head the ball back to Pickford, only for the ball to loop awkwardly to the side. Pedro was running in to easily nod it home.

Batshuayi himself then put a proper polish on the match, and turned it into a proper hammering for Sunderland, as he scored twice in stoppage time to make it 5-1.

Chelsea now look to the double, but Stamford Bridge was on this day most looking at one man.