Chelsea boss Rafa Benitez was delighted with the manner of victory at Sunderland.

The win took third-placed Chelsea to within seven points of leaders Manchester United, although having played a game more, and was just what they needed ahead of their departure to the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan.

But they will travel without midfielder Oriol Romeu, who returned to London to have an ankle injury assessed.

Benitez said: "It's always important to win, but especially if you are going to a tournament like this.

"Every day in training, we have seen this on the pitch and for the confidence of the team it will be fantastic, not just to win, but to win in the way we have won the last two games, with a lot of security on the pitch."