A 10-man Chelsea returned to winning ways in a 3-2 victory over West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns.
After West Brom midfielder James Morrison had his early penalty saved by Thibaut Courtois, debutant Pedro and Diego Costa seemed to give Chelsea control of the game in the opening thirty minutes.
Morrison atoned for his mistake with a lovely driven finish 10 minutes before half time, but Chelsea hit back just before the break as Cesar Azpilicueta ghosted forward to score his first league goal for the club.
John Terry saw red in the second half and Morrison bagged another to set up an enthralling finale, but the Blues hung on to celebrate their first league win of the season.
West Brom are still to record a win this season and lie 19th in the league table, only off the bottom on goals scored at this early stage of the campaign.
Boaz Myhill – 6.5: Made some good saves in the first half to repel Chelsea and cannot be blamed for any of the goals.
Craig Dawson – 5: Struggled to cope with the pace of Chelsea’s attack and offered little going forward. Did not track Azpilicueta for the pivotal Chelsea goal.
Gareth McAuley – 5.5: Normally reliable, but was under constant pressure from Chelsea’s frontline. He looked vulnerable to the pace and power of Diego Costa.
Jonas Olsson – 6: Was under the pump throughout the game and late on had a half chance to salvage a point for the Baggies, but his headed flick went just over the bar.
Chris Brunt – 7: He was the most creative of the four defenders, linking up nicely with Calum McManaman all game, although his altercation with Morrision over who was to take the penalty was petulant.
Claudio Yacob – 5.5: Was left perplexed by the attacking movement of Chelsea as shown during Pedro’s goal where the Spaniard drove from deep almost unchallenged. Unable to provide enough protection to his back four.
Darren Fletcher – 5.5: Struggled to cope with the sheer creativity of Chelsea. He could not make his experienced presence felt in the match, but exerted more control when the away side went down to 10 men.
Callum McManaman – 8: He was a real bright spark all game, getting past Ivanovic with ease. The assist for Morrison’s second goal was textbook wing play and he showed encouraging signs of becoming an important player for Tony Pulis.
James Morrison – 8.5: He pulled all the strings at the heart of West Brom’s attack and fully deserved his two goals which were both brilliantly taken. The only blemish of the day came from the penalty spot, where he lacked composure.
James McClean – 6.5: Showed tenacity on the right wing but came up against a formidable foe in Azpilicueta. The midfielder showed promise but lacked real influence in the contest.
Salomon Rondon – 8: On debut he was a real handful for the reigning champions. His assist was magical and he worked tirelessly for the team. He had a hand in the sending off of John Terry too. He showed every sign that he will be a great servant to the club.
Substitutes
Rickie Lambert – 6: After limited time together the strike partnership of Lambert and Rondon showed promising signs when the former Liverpool man joined the game on the hour mark. Caused problems in the air but lacked a real cutting edge to score goals.
Serge Gnabry – 5: Had limited time to make an impact as he was thrown on late to add pace to the game. Did little to merit a starting berth in front of McManaman.
Craig Gardner – N/A: Not enough time to make any difference as he was thrown on with just two minutes remaining as the Baggies hunted desperately for the goal.
Chelsea
Thibaut Courtois – 7.5: Returning from his ban, he made few errors and the penalty save, although comfortable, gave him confidence to cement his number one status at the club in this match.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 7: He showed again why he is one of the most consistent performers in the League. Not only did he keep McClean relatively quiet throughout, he scored the winner.
John Terry – 5: The Chelsea captain looked back to his best in the first half, but his lack of pace showed up horribly when he brought Rondon to be rightly sent off. He may now find his place in the team severely under threat when he returns from his ban.
Kurt Zouma – 6.5: Was rock solid throughout and with Terry side-lined he is now due a good run in the team and should compliment Cahill well.
Branislav Ivanovic – 4.5: For the third week running the Serbian was caught out by pace. He was at fault for not stopping the cross that led to West Brom’s second goal.
Nemanja Matic – 5.5: Gave away the penalty early in the first half with a clumsy challenge on Rondon and struggled to wrestle control of the midfield.
Cesc Fabregas – 6: Still trying to find his rhythm this season, the Spaniard was neat and tidy with the ball but lacked a killer instinct.
Pedro – 9: The new signing found his feet in the Premier League with a goal and an assist within half an hour. Silky with the ball and pressing hard without it, he is the dream player for Jose Mourinho. Pedro was the star of the show.
Willian – 6: The Brazilian missed two clear cut chances in the first half. His mediocre performance was noted by the manager as he was sacrificed early in the second half once Terry had seen red.
Eden Hazard – 7: Yet to really catch fire this season, he played intelligently without much reward, seeing his decoy runs resulting in goals for team mates.
Diego Costa – 8: Caused problems all game for West Brom. His goal was well deserved but he was lucky to stay on the field after an apparent head-butt on Claudio Yacob.
Substitutes
Gary Cahill – 6: Filled in well for Terry once he had been sent off, but did allow Morrison to get across him for the second Baggies goal.
Falcao – 5: Was brought to slow the game down when West Brom were knocking on the door for an equaliser. He had no chances to shine of note.
John Obi Mikel – N/A: Brought on to waste time and break-up play late on. He had no real contribution on the game.
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