SUNDERLAND, England (AFP) - Chelsea's Premier League title challenge gathered pace as John Terry's early goal earned a 1-0 victory at Sunderland on Saturday.

Avram Grant's team were frequently unsettled by the energy and desire shown by Sunderland, who have now failed to score in more than six hours, but they did enough to keep the pressure on Arsenal and Manchester United.

Despite the crisis that enveloped Stamford Bridge after Chelsea's cup defeats against Tottenham and Barnsley, it is far from impossible that the Blues will be crowned kings of English football for the third time in four seasons.

Sunderland must have feared the worst as early as the 10th minute when Chelsea captain Terry lost his marker Kenwyne Jones and headed the visitors into the lead.

It was the ideal start for a team which has gone ahead 17 times in the Premier League this season and not been beaten in any of those games.

Indeed, Roy Keane's team could have been behind even earlier when only superbly-timed tackles inside the area by Phil Bardsley and Danny Collins prevented Salomon Kalou and Joe Cole breaking away.

Sunderland, unable to score in their previous three games, appealed in vain for a penalty when Roy O'Donovan went down under a clumsy challenge by Terry in the opening stages.

But it proved to be a rare early excursion into the Chelsea area by a Sunderland team that struggled to get to grips with the attacking surges of Joe Cole, Kalou and Frank Lampard, who ensured that striker Didier Drogba was never isolated.

Sunderland did force Chelsea keeper Carlo Cudicini to make one first-half when he clawed away Andy Reid's 20-yard free-kick in the 27th minute.

Reid's midfield promptings eventually started to pose problems for Chelsea before the interval as Roy O'Donovan twice found space for off-target shots.

However, Chelsea went closest to another goal in the first-half when Gordon had to be alert to drop on a shot in stoppage time from Lampard, whose four goals in midweek against Derby were only one fewer than Jones, Sunderland's top scorer, has managed all season.

Grant must have been dismayed during the interval by his team's failure to build on their excellent start. Sunderland had certainly grown in confidence, although their belief would have been shattered if Kalou had turned in Joe Cole's 48th minute cross instead of slicing it well wide.

Grateful to escape on that occasion, Sunderland enjoyed a good spell of possession and, in the space of a minute, Reid shot wide and Cudicini turned away an effort from Grant Leadbitter at the expense of a corner that should have brought them an equaliser.

The corner was met by Collins beyond the far post, but the defender could only head it wide after beating Terry in the air.

With Sunderland disrupting Chlesea's attempts to find any rhythm, Keane's team continued to suggest they were capable of locating an equaliser that would have dealt a major blow to the London club's title prospects.

John Obi Mikel almost provided it when he stretched to cut out Dean Whitehead's 72nd minute cross and diverted it narrowly wide of his own goal.

Then, a minute after going on in place of O'Donovan, the Sunderland substitute almost created a goal for Jones, who tried to glance in a header, but could only direct it straight at Cudicini.

Jones and Whitehead were also agonisingly close to goals in the final moments, but Chelsea clung on to achieve their 17th clean sheet of the season.