London – West Bromwich Albion moved up to third in the Premier League, at least until Chelsea play on Sunday, when they won 4-2 at Sunderland in the early match on Saturday.
A fourth successive league win moved West Brom on to 26 points from 13 matches, with only champions Manchester City (28) and Manchester United (27) above them.
Chelsea, who play Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, will move back above the Baggies if they win their first match under interim manager Rafa Benitez and inflict a first league defeat of the season on the champions.
West Brom, complete outsiders at the start of the season, went ahead at the Stadium of Light with a superb shot from Zoltan Gera after 30 minutes which goalkeeper Simon Mignolet could only get a hand to.
Shane Long doubled the score a minute before the break when Mignolet failed to hold a shot from Chris Brunt, with Long left with the easiest of touches after the ball squirmed from Mignolet's reach.
Craig Gardner pulled a goal back for Sunderland with a deflected free kick before substitute Romelu Lukaku made it 3-1 from the penalty spot nine minutes from time.
Stephane Sessegnon gave the home side a glimmer of hope with their second three minutes from time, but West Brom made sure of the three points when substitute Marc-Antoine Fortune fired home with the last kick of the game. – Reuters