Analysis of Chelsea v West Brom from 11/22/14

by Dylan Barton

The final result of the match was a 2-0 win for Chelsea FC, helping to keep them at the top of the Barclays Premier League. With just over a fourth of this season already behind them, Chelsea are looking very consistent so far, remaining lossless. With only two draws at the time of this match, Chelsea have only dropped 4 points, making them tough to chase for other teams.

In this match Chelsea started strong in the first half with goals from Diego Costa and Eden Hazard within the first 25 minutes of play. The result will appear to be a success for the Blues, although they failed to add to the scoreline, even after West Brom’s Claudio Yacob was sent off with a straight red card in the 29th minute for a harsh challenge near his team’s penalty area that denied a clear scoring chance for Chelsea. The game would have potentially been a blowout if not for excellent goalkeeping by Ben Foster outside of the Blues two goals. The only other action in the match was a yellow card doled out to Chelsea’s Brazilian wingman Willian with fifteen minutes left in the match.

Now to breakdown the goals of the match…

Diego Costa chested a cross under control in the middle of the penalty area before volleying it into the back of the net. He then celebrated with his now infamous jazz hands. It was his eleventh goal in ten matches, so we’ve had a lot of chances to admire his little dance.

The second goal of the match came off of a corner kick. A low cross was sent into the box, finding the feet of Eden Hazard on the left side of Ben Foster’s goal. Hazard then calmly slotted the ball under the keeper, a maneuver that took a high amount of skill from such a tight angle.

Both goals were assisted by Chelsea’s Brazilian attacking midfielder Oscar, who is showing he isn’t selfish with the ball at his feet.

Chelsea now look forward to a Champions League group stage match against Schalke on Tuesday. West Brom’s next game is less promising following this defeat as they face another strong London team, Arsenal who are looking nearly as strong as the Blues.