Chelsea 2-5 West Brom: 5 talking points as 10-man Blues capitulate to impressive Baggies

Chelsea saw their afternoon implode on them Saturday as they blew a one-goal lead to lose 5-2 to relegation fighters West Brom.

The top four contenders were out of rhythm but in control when Christian Pulisic put them ahead midway through the first half.

But his day quickly turned sour when Thiago Silva was sent off minutes later for a second yellow card.

West Brom pushed and played good football going forward, although ultimately it was Chelsea’s mistakes that allowed the visitors to play again.

Matheus Pereira was the beneficiary on two counts in first-half injury time, breaking Chelsea’s bottom line and launching Edouard Mendy to equalize before adding a smart shot that put the Baggies ahead.

Thomas Tuchel threw Mason Mount in the second half to try to galvanize his troops, but Callum Robinson soon delivered the killing blow, finding the net with a hard-hitting volley after a beautifully crafted team play.

Mbaye Diagne then added a similar working goal shortly after to the score sheet, before Mount’s consolation offered a brief glimpse of a comeback, until Robinson’s late goal sealed West Brom’s important victory.

Here are the talking points of Stamford Bridge.

1. Pulisic pounces but does not risk

It has been used sparingly since the appointment of Thomas Tuchel, but Christian Pulisic had a chance to claim a regular spot at XI.

The American impressed in FA Cup duty before the international break and was the Blues’ main threat from the start against West Brom.

He won the free kick that led to Chelsea’s first goal, and although they had a stroke of fortune when Alonso’s effort drifted off the post, Pulisic reacted quickly to follow magnificently and put the ball home.

The 22-year-old dropped between the lines looking for the ball, but couldn’t get Chelsea to advance in the same way as Mason Mount, who later replaced him at halftime.

Pulisic may well have scored, but Tuchel had clearly seen enough, which suggests he still has work to do.

2. Silva sees red

Despite all his experience, Thiago Silva made the afternoon that much more difficult for his team with a red card at 29 minutes.

Fortunately for the Brazilian, his team had just taken the lead moments before, but still put Chelsea in the rear.

In truth, Silva may well have been lucky not to have been sent off earlier when he dropped Pereira.

Anyway, he was fired by a second yellow, perhaps with some harshness, but his entry was still a bit rebellious.

A bad pass from Jorginho had put Chelsea in danger, but Silva was overwhelmed in his desperate lunge to stop the shot and took Okay Yokuşlu right in front of the referee.

Perhaps David Coote had thought twice about his earlier decision, but either way, Silva could have no complaints.

3. Hospital defense

It was Big Sam football at its finest, albeit in stark contrast to what West Brom had produced for the remainder of the half.

The Baggies appeared to be heading into the break with a disadvantaged goal despite Chelsea falling back for much of the first 45 minutes.

But with only 10 men, the hosts began to falter and were soon defeated by a simple route to a helmet downfield from West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.

It was a decent kick, and Matheus Pereira’s run and launch on Edouard Mendy was sublime; but what was the Chelsea defense doing? They mainly stood as statues. And it wasn’t the only time they were caught napping.

West Brom put pressure on Chelsea, who were adamant about playing from behind, and it cost them double.

Jorginho’s misplaced pass had already got them into trouble in the run-up to Silva’s red card. Then Reece James sent a difficult pass to Andreas Christensen, allowing West Brom to break and Pereira to score his second.

Don’t take anything away from Pereira for last, but Chelsea were his worst enemies.

4. The best four of Blues take place

This was not what Thomas Tuchel signed up for.

All of that progress leading up to the international break had put Chelsea in a good position to achieve a top four result this season.

A loss to West Brom won’t change that, but it will certainly set off some alarm bells with the Chelsea manager.

They may have taken the lead, but Chelsea were abject from the first whistle and struggled to penetrate West Brom until their goal against the progress of the game.

The game depended on Silva’s red, but too many players were going through the moves, and even those who weren’t, namely Reece James, made simple mistakes that proved costly.

And once they were behind West Brom, they opened Chelsea so easily.

Tuchel’s men have as much chance as anyone for a place in the Champions League next season, but not playing like that.

5. The bags are runaway

Despite how bad Chelsea was on defense, Matheus Pereira produced two real quality clinical finals to take West Brom from behind and take the lead.

It was only in September that the Baggies scored three goals against Chelsea and capitulated to draw 3-3.

Pereira was clearly keen to reverse that trend, and Chelsea played directly into his hands.

The Brazilian put in a delicious effort on Mendy for the former, before fooling several of the Chelsea players with his disguised shot to the corner for the latter.

Chelsea rallied in the second half to try and recover, but the damage by then was too great as Pereira had exposed his defensive weaknesses and could and probably should have completed his hat-trick.

Instead, he let his teammates, Robinson and Diagne, apply the final nails, while West Brom played the ball effortlessly and counterattacked with venom. They were excellent.

At the same time, they have been given a great lifeline in their battle against the fall. Surely Big Sam will not be able to escape again.