But it had come down to this for the 2004 European Footballer of the Year: He was expected to deliver against Sunderland in the light of Didier Drogba's absence.

Benched, humiliated and subjected to much transfer speculation, the Ukrainian found some measure of redemption, when his goal helped the Blues to a laboured 2-0 win over Sunderland.

Once hailed as the final piece of the Blues' jigsaw, Shevchenko turned out to be their weakest link. His impotence in front of goal, and rumoured effect on team spirit, saw him relegated to the bench even with Jose Mourinho gone.

But all was forgotten in that one moment yesterday, when he notched only his second Premier League goal of the season. It was just his sixth league goal for Chelsea.

Ghosting into the box after 23 minutes, he made no mistake when he connected with Salomon Kalou's cross with a textbook header that gave goalkeeper Darren Ward no chance.

Although the Ukrainian delivered the goal, questions will be asked about Chelsea's muted display, given their recent sparkling form.

Without Drogba, the Blues lacked a reference point up front and Shevchenko, making only his fifth league start of the season, was unable to lead the line with similar aplomb.

Given Avram Grant's job of polishing the team's attacking play, Chelsea had to dig deep into Mourinho's book of tricks to clinch the win against the stubborn Black Cats.

They were only able to breathe easy when defender Alex went to ground after being tugged by Danny Higginbotham in the 74th minute.

Frank Lampard stepped up confidently to blast in the killer second goal from the penalty spot.

In the closing moments, Claudio Pizarro appeared to trod on Liam Miller's boot, but that went unnoticed by referee Peter Walton.

However, what the official saw was Miller shoving a hand into the Peruvian's face, and the Sunderland midfielder subsequently earned his marching orders.

At Old Trafford, Manchester United had no problems with scoring. They demolished Derby County 4-1.

The Rams' resistance was shattered when Ryan Giggs tapped home five minutes before the break, after Stephen Bywater had parried Cristiano Ronaldo's fierce shot.

On the stroke of half-time, Carlos Tevez thumped home United's second.

The Argentinian endeared himself to the home support even further on the hour mark, receiving Wes Brown's pass and lashing past the hapless Bywater.

Steve Howard tried to save the bottom club's blushes when he scrambled the ball past the line in the 76th minute to notch Derby's first away goal of the season.

Still, even under new manager Paul Jewell, Derby remain anchored at the bottom with just six points, three adrift of 19th-placed Wigan.

But it was reigning Footballer of the Year Ronaldo who came under the microscope again.

Booked last week for a dive he arguably did not commit against Fulham, his piece of skulduggery was rewarded in stoppage time, when he went down easily after Tyrone Mears' challenge.

Picking himself up, he wrongfooted Bywater to ice the cake for United.

The victory maintained the two-point gap between the second-placed Red Devils and third-placed Chelsea.

Leaders Arsenal play at Middlesbrough today.

meng@sph.com.sg