Match ends, Chelsea 2, West Bromwich Albion 0.
ChelseaChelsea2West BromWest Bromwich Albion0
- West Brom's Yacob receives straight red card
- Chelsea 12 unbeaten at start of the season, a club record
- Mourinho's 50th Premier League game in second spell
- Costa and Fabregas both start for Chelsea after injury
Chelsea opened up a seven-point lead at the Premier League summit as goals from Diego Costa and Eden Hazard secured a one-sided win over 10-man West Brom.
Costa's chest down and volley got the ball rolling for Jose Mourinho's side.
Hazard was then gifted a cheap second after 25 minutes, firing home after West Brom switched off at a corner.
Claudio Yacob's two-footed lunge on Costa earned him a straight red card from Lee Mason, effectively ending the contest inside half an hour.
West Brom were spared further pain but it was nevertheless a chastening loss for the visitors, who were second best by a considerable margin in all areas.
Chelsea almost went ahead inside five minutes when Hazard's low cross was turned goalwards by John Terry but Ben Foster got down to divert the ball away.
West Brom's plans for Costa looked clear early on when three defenders crowded him out in the area, but he escaped their attentions to devastating effect on 11 minutes.
Oscar's delivery from the left picked out the striker, who was given the benefit of a narrow offside call before controlling on his chest and firing his 11th goal of the season beyond the exposed Foster.
Oscar nearly doubled the lead when his sliced drive brought a diving save from Foster, who did even better to deflect away the rebound from the onrushing Costa.
Costa then guided Branislav Ivanovic's inviting centre millimetres wide, as the contest, barely 20 minutes old, grew ever more one-sided.
In what was the Blues' first home game since Jose Mourinho criticised the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's performance was greeted enthusiastically by the fans.
| Baggies' unhappy hunting ground |
|---|
| Albion's last league win at Chelsea was by 3-1 in September 1978, when Tony Brown became the club's joint all-time top scorer with 208 goals. |
They had another goal to cheer on 25 minutes, the West Brom defence dozing at a corner and allowing Cesc Fabregas to deliver short and low to Hazard, who drifted away from Craig Gardner's half-hearted challenge before firing an untidy deflected finish through Foster.
Five minutes later, the writing was on the wall for Alan Irvine's rattled visitors as Yacob, making his first league start of the season, was sent off for a wild tackle on Costa.
West Brom made it to the break without further punishment but within moments of the restart were exposed again as Nemanja Matic volleyed over Oscar 's lofted ball.
For all their dominance, Chelsea could not make any further inroads after break, but it was all a far cry from events in this same fixture a year ago, when Albion were seconds away from inflicting Mourinho's first ever league defeat at Stamford Bridge.
West Brom boss Alan Irvine: "We had a game plan that was made more difficult by the first goal, which I think was offside. But the second one I was disappointed about - we pride ourselves on being organised at set-pieces and we weren't as organised as we should have been."
On Yacob's dismissal: "I can see why he sent him off. I don't think Claudio was trying to do any damage - he was trying to win the ball - but the rules are such that if your feet leave the ground with both feet you're not in control."
Line-ups
Chelsea
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 13Courtois
- 2Ivanovic
- 24Cahill
- 26Terry
- 28Azpilicueta
- 21Matic
- 4Fàbregas
- 22WillianBooked at 75minsSubstituted forSantos do Nascimentoat 86'minutes
- 8OscarSubstituted forRemyat 79'minutes
- 10E Hazard
- 19Diego CostaSubstituted forDrogbaat 84'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Cech
- 3Filipe Luís
- 5Zouma
- 7Santos do Nascimento
- 11Drogba
- 14Schürrle
- 18Remy
West Brom
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Foster
- 2Wisdom
- 25Dawson
- 6Lescott
- 4BairdSubstituted forGamboaat 68'minutes
- 5YacobBooked at 29mins
- 8Gardner
- 17DorransSubstituted forMorrisonat 84'minutes
- 29Sessegnon
- 11Brunt
- 18BerahinoSubstituted forAnichebeat 78'minutes
Substitutes
- 7Morrison
- 9Ideye
- 10Anichebe
- 13Myhill
- 16Gamboa
- 23McAuley
- 30Samaras
- Referee:
- Lee Mason
- Attendance:
- 41,600
Match Stats
Home TeamChelseaAway TeamWest Brom
- Possession
- Home74%
- Away26%
- Shots
- Home21
- Away5
- Shots on Target
- Home8
- Away1
- Corners
- Home15
- Away0
- Fouls
- Home7
- Away9
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Chelsea 2, West Bromwich Albion 0.
Post update
Gary Cahill (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Chris Brunt (West Bromwich Albion).
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Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Andre Wisdom.
Substitution
Substitution, Chelsea. Ramires replaces Willian.
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Attempt missed. Eden Hazard (Chelsea) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Willian.
Substitution
Substitution, West Bromwich Albion. James Morrison replaces Graham Dorrans.
Substitution
Substitution, Chelsea. Didier Drogba replaces Diego Costa.
Post update
Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Stéphane Sessegnon.
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Gary Cahill (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Victor Anichebe (West Bromwich Albion).
Substitution
Substitution, Chelsea. Loïc Remy replaces Oscar.
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Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Substitution
Substitution, West Bromwich Albion. Victor Anichebe replaces Saido Berahino.
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Delay in match Diego Costa (Chelsea) because of an injury.
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Foul by Oscar (Chelsea).
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Craig Dawson (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Oscar (Chelsea) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Cesc Fàbregas.
Post update
Eden Hazard (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
