A 10 man Chelsea side recorded the defending champions’ first win of the new Premier League campaign after a thrilling five goal affair with West Bromwich Albion.
The match opened with decent chances for both teams to score early, but the heartbeats of Chelsea fans everywhere increased in the 14th minute when the hosts were awarded a penalty after Nemanja Matic brought down Callum McManaman on the edge of the 18-yard box. However, James Morrison’s straight down the middle spot-kick that followed was denied by the long leg of Thibaut Courtois.
Against the run of play it was the Blues who found the initial breakthrough, Pedro scoring on his debut after receiving the ball from Eden Hazard and squeezing it past the reach of Boaz Myhill. Some patient movement of the ball in the attacking-third lead to a second for the visitors just before the half-hour mark, the new signing turning provider as Diego Costa opened his 2015-16 account with an easy finish at the back post.
The Baggies were deservedly able to reduce the deficit soon after, a cross struck back across goal by Salomon Rondon’s acrobatic overhead and into the path of Morrison, whose first-time strike thundered into the net, but the two goal advantage was restored by Cesar Azpilicueta’s shot from range minutes before half-time.
The drama would resume quickly after the restart when John Terry was shown a straight red card for his last ditch tackle on Rondon. While the Venezuelan was probably denied a goal, the Baggies would not wait long to take advantage of the extra man, with Morrison heading his second home in the 59th.
Although the closing stages were nervous to say the least for Mourinho and his team, a number of chances presented to West Brom went begging, allowing the Blues to escape with what already is a vital three points.
Pedro turns up the firepower in Blue debut
New weapons were required to spark a Chelsea attack that had looked rather flat since the beginning of the season. After a £21 million deal was confirmed before the weekend, there was no time wasted by Mourinho in introducing Pedro to the starting line-up, a decision that would quickly pay dividends after the Spaniard’s opening goal and assist for Costa. The 28-year-old was a constant thorn for West Brom on the right, and nearly setup one or two more in the second-half.
Similarly to Cesc Fabregas, who was also a fellow teammate at Barcelona, Pedro has a deft sense of where his teammates are and the skill to put a deadly cross through the air or along the ground, but also possesses pace to outrun an opponent on the wing. The Blue faithful will hope their new arrival can set the competition alight in the same manner as Fabregas did last season.
Baggies show fighting spirit against the champions
While the attack may have finally begun to hit their stride, West Brom were still able to expose fragility in the Chelsea backline that should have Mourinho thinking before the next game. When given the chance, McManaman charged at the defenders and was able to create numerous opportunities, including the assist for the hosts’ second goal. Rondon’s speed was also problematic for the visitors, the Baggies striker forcing Courtois into two saves, including some stoppage-time efforts that had observers from both sides on edge.
Tony Pulis’ men are left still seeking their first win of the season, and despite an admirable display may be left wondering what could have been had Morrison not stepped-up to take the penalty early in the game.
Pressure lifts off some and mounts on others
The attention can quickly turn negative when a team of Chelsea’s stature is underperforming, and after the opening two rounds some sort of statement had to be made by the team to quieten down the early doubters.
To the delight of supporters who once more chanted his name at full force, Costa netted his first goal of the campaign, on the end of an inch-perfect assist from Pedro. Maybe more importantly though, the star hitman was able to create dangerous space and looked hungry for the ball. He made way for Radamel Falcao in the 78th minute, but after recording twice as many shots in this outing than the previous two games combined, there is still potential for a 20+ goal season from the Spaniard.
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For the second week in a row Branislav Ivanovic was left chasing shadows around the 18-yard area, with the majority of West Brom’s 15 attempts coming through his side of the field. The Serbian has also shown little of the attacking impetus that saw him scoring goals for fun this time last season.
However, following his half-time substitution in the previous game against Manchester City, Terry himself particularly would have wanted to leave the Hawthorne with his head held high. But the Blues’ captain will have to face another week of bad headlines after stopping what may have been an imminent West Brom goal by bringing Morrision to the ground as the last defender.
With time still available to entice John Stones to Stamford Bridge the Chelsea icon will hope that the win at least is a signal of better things to come for his 2015-16 season.
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