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.
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.