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Wasteful up front and truly trash up front, Chelsea were in danger of being humiliated until Tammy Abraham scored in injury time to cap off a 3-0 comeback against. Until then, Frank Lampard’s side seemed poised to be beaten by the so-called Premier League lads, as the well-organized and clinical West Brom provided a perfect contrast to the ramshackle visitors whose first-half injuries were partly self-inflicted.
Callum Robinson scored twice before Kyle Bartley scored a well-worked third for West Brom before Lampard’s team, which this week took their season expenses to more than £ 200 million, found a way to save face. It was a trio of young homegrown players who yielded the goals, Mason Mount finding the net in the 55th minute before Callum Hudson-Odoi and Abraham completed the scoring.
There were people who through West Brom’s best performances in the opening weeks of this season had come at press conferences, where Slaven Bilic continued to radiate optimism despite beatings from his team in their first two league games. None of the reduced-price recruits Bilic had been able to make since those games, a young midfielder on loan from Chelsea and Branislav Ivanovic, 36, whom Chelsea resigned three years ago, were available for this match, so the only disturbance. Bilic was able to make the lineup that started the 5-2 loss to Everton by recruiting Conor Townsend for the suspended Kieran Gibbs.
Compare that to Lampard’s luxury options: Chelsea replaced Kurt Zouma with Thiago Silva, for whom the trip to the Hawthorns represented awkward first steps in his attempt to add a Premier League title to the 18 trophies he won with Paris. Saint-Germain. Lampard also chose to consign the world’s most expensive goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga, to the bench despite the fact that Édouard Mendy, the £ 22 million replacement signed by Rennes this week, was not ready to debut. Willy Cabellero started in goal, leaving Arrizabalaga wondering if last week’s mistake against Liverpool was the last he will be allowed to make for Chelsea. But his absence certainly didn’t spell the end of Chelsea’s mistakes.
The visitors helped West Brom take the lead after just four minutes. Marcos Alonso was the main culprit, directing the ball directly to Matheus Pereira, who slid a deft pass through Robinson, who fired from the left corner of the area through the legs of Reece James and past Cabellero.
Alonso’s awkward start continued two minutes later when he retired Semi Ajayi and got a caution when, perhaps, Lampard mentally sent another Get Well Soon card to Ben Chilwell.
Chelsea created opportunities after that, mainly on the right wing, but their ending was sloppy, with Abraham and Timo Werner missing particularly presentable opportunities.
Just when it looked like West Brom might yield under pressure, Chelsea fell apart again. This time, the mistake came from the newcomer who was expected to solidify his defense and whom Lampard immediately made captain. Silva inexplicably lost control of the ball in his own half, allowing Robinson to pounce on him and run towards goal before striking off emphatically.
West Brom wasn’t satiated, and why would they be when Chelsea’s incompetence amounted to an invitation to attack. Bilic’s team made it 3-0 before half an hour thanks to a cleverly crafted corner kick routine that culminated with Bartley unmarked driving the ball into the net from six yards.
It would have been ridiculous for Lampard not to make changes at half-time. He brought Alonso out of team misery by introducing César Azpilicueta and also selected Callum Hudson-Odoi for Mateo Kovacic as he adjusted the team’s form from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3. The visitors dominated after the break but lacked the inventiveness to break through the vigilant hosts until the 55th minute. It was then that Mount eluded West Brom’s defense by unloading a shot wide from 25 yards. Johnstone looked puzzled as the ball flew into the net.
Havertz, like Werner, showed little of the threat that convinced Chelsea to pay such a high fee for him, but then, in the 70th minute, he played a delicate one-two with Hudson-Odoi, who finished smartly.
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Lampard threw Olivier Giroud for Silva and attempted a back three. West Brom knew they couldn’t wait to just hang on. Romaine Sawyers almost gave them more room to breathe, but their drive from 20 yards opened. West Brom nearly escaped with three points anyway, but they were denied in injury time when Johnstone could only kick Mount’s shot to his right, leaving Abraham with a single shot to claim a point for Chelsea.
