Chelsea climbed up to the third spot on the Premier League log with a 4-0 comfortable victory over West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns Stadium on Saturday. Given that Arsenal had earlier beaten Tottenham Hotspurs, the Blues needed a victory in their trip at least for them to temporarily go second in the Premier League. The win over the Baggies followed the narrow 1-0 that Antonio Conte's men handed Manchester United just before the international break.
The Blues went to a familiar ground where they won the league title just six months ago. It was at the Hawthorn where a goal from Michy Batshuayi was enough to seal the crown that saw Chelsea become the champions of England for the sixth time.
The Blues were facing a side with a manager who has a vast experience in the Premier League given that Tony Pulis has only managed teams within the territory of England.
What transpired
After losing their last three Premier League games, West Bromwich Albion needed to win the match to avoid the staring relegation region. However, everything seemed improbable given that the Baggies were hosting the champions of England. West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Pulis opted to go with a 3-5-2 to make things difficult for the visitors at the center of the pack. Foster was in between the sticks while Hegazi, Evans, and McAuley formed a three-man defense. Philips, Livermore, Barry, Gibbs, and Krychowiak crowded the midfield while JayRodriguez and Salomon Rondon were hunting for the goal for the hosts.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte went with a 3-5-1-1 formation where Courtois wore the gloves while Christensen, Azpilicueta, and Cahill protected his goal area. Zappacosta, Kante, Fabregas, Bakayoko, and Alonso were in the midfield while Alvaro Morata led the attack with Eden Hazard as a follow-up striker. David Luiz was one notable unused substitution as speculations are still ripe that he's fallen out of favor with the manager.
The game started with the host pushing more than their fancied visitors and the Baggies even had a goal disallowed early in the match. It just took Chelsea seventeen minutes to find an opener through Alvaro Morata who followed up on Eden Hazard's shot that Ben Foster couldn't hold on to. Five minutes later Morata found Hazard with the ball just at the edge of the 18 -yard box and the Belgian rounded the goalkeeper before swiftly slotting the ball into the empty net to double Chelsea's lead.
The visitors were still not done as the unmarked Marcos Alonso converted Cesc Fabregas' corner cross at the roof of the net with six minutes remaining to ensure that the Blues went to the break with a three-goal lead.
After the break, goals never poured as they did in the last half. The time was pointing beyond an hour mark when Fabregas located the position of Eden Hazard who dribbled past a few West Bromwich Albion defenders before firing a thunderous shot past the oncoming goalkeeper to put the proceedings beyond the Baggies' reach. The game ended with a total of five bookings where the Baggies bagged two yellow cards while the visitors took the remaining three cautions.
Where does the result take each team?
It wasn't only the three points that mattered to Chelsea, but the massive number of goals they realized on their rampage at the Hawthorns also spoke volumes. The result ensured that the Blues overtook Tottenham Hotspurs and became the occupants of position three in the 20-team Premier League log. Even though Chelsea didn't reduce the gap between them and the league leaders, Manchester City, the Blues improved their goal difference that might be critical when the season concludes.
With two goals and an assist to his name, there was no doubt that Eden Hazard emerged the man of the match. Interestingly, all the players who contributed to Chelsea's goal havoc except Marcos Alonso were the ones who received the three yellow cards.
Cesc Fabregas added two more assists to his name, and he's on course to replacing Ryan Giggs who still holds the record for most assists in the history of Premier League.
The game proved once again the importance of Spanish players in Chelsea's squad with four players finding positions in the competitive starting-eleven. Two goals and two assists came from Spanish international while Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azplicueta made sure that the Blues followed one clean sheet with another one. However, much credit should also go to the French duo in the midfield who made a smooth linking between the defense and the striking force thus creating more goals and shielding Chelsea's goal area. The two French players are Tiemoue Bakayoko and N'golo Kante.
Should West Ham United overcome Watford on Sunday, the Baggies will be in the relegation zone at the end of Round 12 of Premier League activities. The defeat to Chelsea means that West Bromwich Albion has gone winless in eleven consecutive games in all competitions. After losing four league games in a row, West Bromwich Albion manager could on the spot for the poor run of form and maybe the fifth manager to face the axle since the new season began.
