West Brom 2-0

Independent:

Chelsea 2 West Bromwich Albion 0
Diego Costa and Eden Hazard help the Blues cruise to victory over 10-man Baggies
Miguel Delaney

They had been so good that the only way the opposition could get near them was through the type of abrasive challenge that saw Claudio Yacob sent off after half an hour.
If Mourinho wished for a reference-point performance for the new Chelsea, something he can always point to as an ideal to be touched, it was this first 45 minutes. This was the best football Stamford Bridge has seen for a long time. By stretching their unbeaten run to 12 since the start of the season, they also set a club record. There were reminders, too, of some of the best qualities from the title of nine years ago.
Once ahead, Chelsea closed up and dropped the intensity. It might not have been as dominating but it maintained control, and again brought up the comparisons between the sides. Mourinho once more scotched them, saying the current side has won nothing yet, but the reality is that the combination of all those qualities is likely to see them win this league rather comfortably. For the moment, it keeps them eight points clear of defending champions Manchester City.
It was also such a clear statement of intent, an illustration that more recent problems do not apply. In recent years Chelsea have struggled after international breaks, and especially struggled against West Brom, who they had only beaten once in the last six years before this game.
Mourinho’s side had banished all of that like so many of Alan Irvine’s defenders within 10 minutes. That was all it took for Costa to open the scoring. He chested Oscar’s flick beautifully before volleying past Ben Foster. Hazard’s goal was even easier, as he picked up Cesc Fabregas’ short corner to dance through and drive past Foster – one of the only West Brom players to perform at the required standard. Chelsea initially played well beyond the required standard. This is what they are capable of with Costa at full fitness and the team at full pelt.
It seemed that, with so many of Chelsea’s rivals struggling, Mourinho wanted to show they themselves would not be allowing the pace to drop; that they are prepared to streak clear. It allowed them to drop the intensity later on, but that could be the pattern of the season. Rampant start, easy end. Mourinho found it difficult to put his admiration into words. “The quality of our football was high quality, high quality,” he enthused.
“Another dimension, so well, so fast, so fluid, made the pitch very, very wide with wide people creating spaces to play inside, score two goals. We should have scored much more than that. It was fantastic.”
It was so fantastic, in fact, that West Brom’s players seemed frustrated that Yacob went in rather rashly on Costa. Given that the defender had raised two feet, Irvine offered no complaints, and wasn’t angry with the decision to send Yacob off.
Mourinho, by contrast, seemed rather annoyed with the way his team dropped off. “But I’m always annoyed,” Mourinho responded, this time with laughter. “There are a number of things that can cause that. The objective was  three points. The first half was beautiful. I am many times upset, but not today.”
He was also happy with the crowd. Mourinho had criticised them for the low volume after the 2-1 win over QPR on 1 November, but retracted those comments here. For their part, the home support made a point of being much louder. “I feel sorry for my comments a couple of weeks ago but the reality is today the difference was amazing,” he admitted. “I don’t want to speak again about it. For good or bad, because they pay me to coach, to win matches, not to be critical of the crowd.”
Irvine, meanwhile, ended up offering praise to his defence, particularly for the manner in which they shored up after the red card and prevented what could have been a massacre. “Well, it could have happened. There was no doubt about that,” he said. “This was a hard enough place to come with 11 players. Mourinho said it was magnificent from 10 and I have to agree with him from a defensive side. From attacking, we’d have wanted a lot more.”
Mourinho says that his own players are offering plenty, that he can sense their “hunger”. “I feel it. I feel pleasure in what they do. They are happy to play the way they do. But I repeat, 12 matches played. We have 26 more to play.”
If they keep playing like this, there will be very little doubt.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Matic, Fabregas; Willian (Ramires, 86), Oscar (Remy, 79), Hazard; Costa (Drogba, 84).
West Bromwich (4-4-1-1): Foster; Wisdom, Dawson, Lescott, Baird (Gamboa, 68); Dorrans (Morrison, 84), Gardner, Yacob, Brunt; Sessegnon; Berahino (Anichebe, 78).
Referee: Lee Mason.
Man of the match: Matic (Chelsea).
Match rating: 7/10.

================

Observer:

Chelsea’s Diego Costa on target again as West Brom go down to 10 men
Chelsea 2 - 0 West Brom

Paul Doyle at Stamford Bridge

Matches such as this show why fears are rising that the Premier League title race could become one long Chelsea lap of honour. Their latest outing was never a contest, just a parade of power and style. They have now won 10 and drawn two of their 12 league matches this season, racking up points at an ominous rate. The other so-called title challengers need to find consistency soon or it will be too late.
As for West Bromwich Albion, they presented themselves for kick-off on time but that was pretty much all they got right in a first half when the result was effectively decided, although Ben Foster’s constant saves stopped the scoreline from testifying to the true extent of the home team’s superiority. The Baggies tightened up admirably in the second period, by which time they were down to 10 men due to the expulsion of Claudio Yacob, but that was partially because Chelsea eased off.
The hosts corralled the visitors into one end of the pitch from the opening seconds and did not relent until their opponents had abandoned all hope of winning a point. Which was around about half-time.
“The first half was brilliant, beautiful,” said José Mourinho. “Our football was high quality, another dimension. We were playing so well, so fast, so fluid. We made the pitch very wide and created spaces to play inside and scored two goals. We should have scored much more than that. It was fantastic.”
It really was. Chelsea hogged possession with purpose, probing mischievously from the outset and spreading panic amid the visitors. Yacob managed to curtail one attack in the fifth minute but was too flustered to do anything with the ball other than boot it behind for a corner. Chelseatook it short, Eden Hazard fizzed the ball across the face of goal and John Terry tried to poke it into the net, bringing the first of Foster’s many saves.
The goalkeeper was by far Albion’s busiest player, with many of the others acting like puzzled bystanders as Chelsea breezed between them. But he was helpless in the 11th minute when Oscar clipped a cross over to Diego Costa, who, as the defenders appealed justifiably for offside, killed the ball on his chest before finishing in typically deadly fashion from 12 yards.
Soon Foster had to excel again, pushing away an Oscar shot with one hand after the Brazilian had been left free on the edge of the area to receive a pull-back from Hazard. Foster had to scramble to his feet to prevent Costa from scoring on the rebound, no defender having anticipated the problem.
After Chelsea’s last Premier League home match, against QPR, Mourinho had complained that the subdued atmosphere made it seem like supporters were sleeping; here, the Albion manager, Alan Irvine, could have levelled similar complaints at his defenders in the first half. At least Chris Baird had an excuse for looking out of his depth. He was making his first Premier League start for 658 days following injury and loss of form and his rustiness was exposed by Branislav Ivanovic in the 19th minute when the Serb raced past him and crossed for Costa, who shot inches wide.
Albion were guilty of more doziness in the 25th minute, when Hazard was allowed to receive a short corner from Cesc Fàbregas and fire the ball into the net from close range, Craig Gardner’s attempted block coming too late to be successful.
The way things were unfolding made a repeat of Chelsea’s 6-0 win in 2010 a strong possibility. Especially when Yacob was sent off for what can only be described as a pogo-tackle – the midfielder jumped with two feet into a challenge with Costa and although he landed on the ball, the referee, Lee Mason, deemed it dangerous, a decision that Irvine agreed was “understandable”.
Enjoying numerical superiority on top of a lead that was palpably insurmountable, Chelsea players began to showboat, Oscar drawing another save from Foster with a backheeled shot from seven yards.
The home side should have been farther in front before the break as the Albion defence dissolved every time the hosts turned up the heat. Fàbregas prodded a pass straight through the middle of them in the 40th minute, allowing Ivanovic to rush on to it and, as Foster advanced, knock the ball sideways to Azpilicueta. The pass was fractionally too long for the Spaniard but the fact that both of Chelsea’s full-backs had got behind the defence in the box spoke volumes. Nemanja Matic enjoyed similar freedom in the opening minutes of the second period but directed a volley over the bar from 10 yards after being fed by Fàbregas.
With an important Champions League tie to play at Schalke on Tuesday, Chelsea relaxed a little, though Foster had to maintain his vigilance to thwart Hazard and Costa again. In the end Irvine could claim a degree of satisfaction from avoiding a massacre.
The supporters did their best to keep the atmosphere buzzing until full-time but Chelsea’s contentedness with their lead and Albion’s inability to do anything about it meant the game had an almost non-event feel by the end.

==================

Telegraph:

Chelsea 2 West Bromwich Albion 0:
Diego Costa and Eden Hazard on target as Jose Mourinho's side ease to victory

By Jim White, Stamford Bridge

Jose Mourinho's side extend their lead at the top of the table with a comfortable victory over 10-man Baggies

Rarely can a 2-0 victory have been this comprehensive. Chelsea found this so easy, they were taking the opportunity for an extended bit of recuperation from the middle of the first half. 2-0? It could, perhaps should, have been ten.
Jose Mourinho’s intent was clear. Never mind a Champions League tie coming up on Tuesday, he was going with his best line-up. There was no rest for the leaders. You could see why. Familiarity is breeding content round Stamford Bridge. Settled, solid, comfortable, this is a team with no evident weakness. A team, moreover that knows each other’s strengths, that knows each other’s movements.
At half time, the only surprise was that Chelsea had not accumulated a cricket score. So smooth, so easy, so far in the ascendancy were they, with Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas controlling midfield, with Diego Costa a constant threat, Mourinho’s team looked as if they could win at will. It is the characteristic of champions.
Yet, as it was, they only had two goals. The first was inevitably scored by Costa. It was 12 degrees out there, yet the Spanish international was wearing gloves. What, you wondered, will he be wearing in January? But he was warmed up all right. He had already drawn a fine save from Ben Foster, when, on 11 minutes, Oscar arced a beautiful cross in behind the West Bromwich defence. Controlling the ball perfectly on his chest, he strode on and stroked the ball home.
After two more astonishing saves from the visiting keeper, Chelsea won a corner. Eden Hazard received on the edge of the box, advanced unchecked round Craig Gardner, and slipped a left foot shot under Foster. Unmoved, unsurprised, expecting it, Mourinho celebrated by writing something in his pad; a tweak, no doubt, to perfection.
On half an hour, a tough job for the visitors became impossible. Claudio Yacob was shown a straight red for a clumsy challenge on Costa. They were finding it hard enough to contain Chelsea with eleven men. With ten, there was no route back. By now their manager Alan Irvine was reduced to standing on the edge of his technical area, forlornly shouting out names: “Craig, Craig, Craig,” he went at one point. It was not entirely clear Craig Gardner could here him through the befuddlement.
West Brom’s chances were summed up by the freekick Chris Brunt fired into the top tier of the Shed midway through the second half. As the visitors demonstrated their ambition by retreating into a 4-5 formation, Chelsea were demonstrating how they can switch tactical approaches at will. One minute Hazard, Oscar and Willian were picking their way through with multiple passing moves the next someone was hoisting a long ball over the top for one of their fliers to chase. Like the apparently laser-guided long ball from Matic to set Hazard in behind the West Brom defence just before half time. Beautifully controlling, he bore down on goal, but Foster was there yet again.
In fact, here was the reason Chelsea were not in double figures: Foster may have slipped behind Fraser Forster in the race to be Joe Hart’s international deputy, but he was magnificent here. Despite his team adopting a 4-5 formation post the sending off to protect him, ably organised by a defiant Joleon Lescott, he was the busiest man on the pitch. His save on half time, flicking the ball off Cesar Azpilicueta’s toes or his reflex stop from John Terry’s header early in the second or his save at Hazard’s feet in the 72nd minute were the very models of defiance.
He barely had time to draw breath. It was not quite the same at the other end of the pitch. Thiboult Courtois didn’t touch the ball for more than half an hour in the second half. While Chelsea’s two centre backs, utterly unchallenged and with the freedom of the Bridge to exploit, had endless opportunity to instigate attacks, Gary Cahill almost matching his senior partner in the distance and accuracy of his forward promptings.
As the Chelsea attack began to lose interest in trying to break through the thick red lines of visiting defenders, the interest gradually petered out. It is generally considered necessary to have two teams involved in a match to make it gripping. For the home crowd attention could be directed into cheering Didier Drogba when he trotted out to warm up. That and chanting “we’re top of the league”. The scoreline may not have reflected their absolute supremacy, but, after this, there can be few doubting it is a position they will surely still be occupying in May.

==================

Times:

Chelsea 2 West Bromwich Albion 0: Slick Blues ease past Albion

John Aizlewood

If nothing else, this was meant to be a straightforward encounter. And so it was. Chelsea — rolling, relentless Chelsea — had not surrendered a Premier League point at home all season and had the game secured in the first 25 minutes. West Bromwich Albion — fatally flawed West Bromwich Albion — stumbled into and then out of West London still struggling to integrate the bulk of their summer signings and, after 90 minutes, struggling to mount so much as an attack.
Even history was shaking its fist at Albion. Last season’s point at Stamford Bridge remains their only one this century and when they last took full points in SW6, Tony “Bomber” Brown and Cyrille Regis thumped goals past Peter Bonetti. This Chelsea vintage have the knack of making the routine, well, routine.
For all that manager Jose Mourinho seemed to be paying lip-service in his programme notes with the unlikely notion that “West Brom will make it tough for us”, a team selection which owed nothing to chance or rotation suggested he meant every word. Consequentially, Chelsea can hardly have had a more routine afternoon.
“The first half was beautiful,” purred Mourinho. “We were so fast, so fluid, our brilliant, high-quality football was of another dimension. After that West Brom knew they could not discuss the points and they were very compact defensively.”
When Ben Foster reacted brilliantly to shove John Terry’s cute early flick around the post, business seemed to be as usual. It was and for Chelsea, business is good and they were ahead soon enough.
Unfathomably, the Albion defence stood off to allow Oscar to cross from the left. More perplexingly still, Joleon Lescott watched the cross go over him, leaving Diego Costa, Europe’s deadliest striker, all on his own, and as Albion manager Alan Irvine argued afterwards, offside in the penalty area.
With one touch, Costa controlled the ball with his chest, with another he volleyed his 11th Premier League goal past Foster. Those familiar with the Esperanto of body language might have thought the visitors had already given up. In the short-term they would have been right.
For the rest of the first half, Chelsea sizzled. On and on they pressed. Costa should have had a hat-trick in 20 minutes, being thwarted first by Foster and then by a few precious millimetres.
Eden Hazard was the cat to Andre Wisdom’s mouse and in the eye of the storm, Nemanja Matic was an oasis of tough serenity. In the wake of Mourinho’s condemnation of a crowd coasting where his team did not in the last home game against Queens Park Rangers, the decibel level was cranked up.
“I am paid to win matches not to criticise the crowd,” explained Mourinho, “so I apologise for my quotes of a fortnight ago. Today, the difference was amazing.”
After 24 minutes Chelsea were two up. Cesc Fabregas slid a short left-sided corner towards the edge of the penalty area. Untroubled by any red-shirted defender, with one touch Hazard collected and with another he fired past Foster, albeit with a slight but helpful deflection off Craig Gardner. For Chelsea’s two goals, two strikers had taken two touches each.
Could events take a worse turn for somnambulant Albion? Indeed they could and having not managed a tackle worthy of the name for 28 minutes, when Claudio Yacob did produce one in the 29th, it was a ludicrous two-footed leap at Costa and the visitors found themselves a man as well as two goals in arrears. “I’ve watched it again and it was an understandable decision,” lamented Irvine.
After that, Albion were set only on damage limitation and switched to 4-4-1, marooning the disconsolate Saido Berahino as a lone and lonely striker, but, to their credit, they avoided humiliation.
“Jose said we were magnificent with 10 men and I wouldn’t argue,” noted Irvine, “but I wanted an awful lot more in an attacking sense.
“There’s already been one 8-0 in the Premier League this season and you fear the worst, but at half-time I stressed that we needed to be more focused and stick together as a team.”
Chelsea seemed torn between cruising with an eye on Tuesday’s reunion with Schalke manager Roberto Di Matteo in Gelsenkirchen and the understanding that they had kicked off just one goal superior to Southampton and a boot-filling opportunity beckoned.
In the event, as Roman Abramovich looked on, Chelsea plumped for something in-between: complete dominance at a training session tempo with a concomitantly reduced crowd volume level, and so a picayune second half passed without incident, aside from Foster saving smartly from Hazard. It’s often said there are no easy games in the Premier League: this was.

Chelsea: Courtois 6, Ivanovic 6, Cahill 7, Terry 6, Azpilicueta 6, Fabregas 7, Matic 7, Willian 6 (Ramires 86min), Oscar 7 (Remy 79min), Hazard 7, Costa 7 (Drogba 84min)
West Brom: Foster 7, Wisdom 5, Dawson 7, Lescott 6, Baird 5 (Gamboa 68min), Gardner 6, Yacob 5, Dorrans 5 (Morrison 84min), Sessegnon 6, Brunt 5, Berahino 5 (Anichebe 78min)

========================

Mail:

Chelsea 2-0 West Brom: Diego Costa and Eden Hazard as deadly as ever
By Sam Cunningham

Jose Mourinho must have been taking notes when Brazil manager Dunga visited Chelsea’s Cobham training ground for lunch on Friday.
For there was certainly an air of the legendary Brazil sides about Chelsea as they took apart West Bromwich Albion at Stamford Bridge — in the first half, at least.
Two of their starting XI were Brazilian — Oscar and Willian — and Diego Costa was born there before switching allegiances to represent Spain. All three were integral to this punishing, pin-point passing performance.
Beautiful,’ was the word used by Mourinho to sum up his side’s first- half display. ‘The quality of our football was high,’ he said. ‘We were playing so well, so fast, so fluid.
'We made the pitch very wide. We create spaces to play inside. We scored two goals, we should score much more than that. It was fantastic.’
Indeed, the great Brazil side which won the 1970 World Cup in Mexico would have been proud of a move of the highest calibre that led to the opening goal on 11 minutes.
Oscar exchanged a tidy one-two with Willian down the left-hand side and then passed the ball to Cesar Azpilicueta on the overlap.
The full-back played the ball back to Oscar who sent in a cross as nonchalantly as you like which Diego Costa controlled with his chest before finishing for his 11th Premier League goal of the campaign.
Only 25 minutes in and Chelsea were two ahead, although it could have been four or five at that point were it not for Ben Foster’s form in Albion’s goal.
A simpler move, but as equally clever as the first, doubled the lead. Oscar played a corner from the left along the ground straight to Eden Hazard, who took one touch to take the ball around Craig Gardner before burying a low finish.
Four minutes later, West Brom’s afternoon became considerably worse when Claudio Yacob was shown a straight red card by referee Lee Mason for jumping in to challenge Costa. At this point, West Brom manager Alan Irvine feared the worst.
‘There’s been an 8-0 in the league this season and when you’re 2-0 down with 10 men at Stamford Bridge with most of the game to play, you fear the worst,’ he said.
‘It was important to get my players focused and make sure we didn’t end up on the wrong end of a high score.’
But Chelsea were already running the show as if they had a man advantage before the sending off.
The Brazilian Football Confederation said ‘there was a long conversation, with an exchange of ideas about football’ when Dunga met Mourinho.
Yet Chelsea’s players were making the most complex football ideas appear simple on the pitch
Oscar struck an outside-of-the-boot curler from the edge of the box on 15 minutes, which Foster dived to keep out before smothering a Costa effort who had pounced on the rebound.
Moments later and he was at it again. Oscar, seemingly everywhere on the pitch and this time on the right, reached the byline before passing back to Branislav Ivanovic.
The full-back’s first-time cross was met by Costa, who tried to side-foot home but the ball flew across goal and went wide of a post.
Still wave after wave of blue roared towards West Brom’s goal. Hazard sent a ball over the top, which Costa managed to control only for Foster to come hurtling out to block, then react fastest to punch the ball away from Oscar’s feet.
Foster thwarted Oscar again when another Chelsea move ended with the forward taking a touch and attempting an audacious back-heel.
There were cried of ‘Ole’ from the Stamford Bridge crowd, midway through the first half, as a triangle of Cesc Fabregas, Azpilicueta and Oscar played the ball out from the left corner of their own half, with a cheeky flick from the Brazilian thrown in.
But whatever Mourinho told his players at the break reined them in and the second half was a far more solemn affair, still dominated by Chelsea. Whatever ideas he had shared the day before, this was vintage Mourinho, straight from his personal tactics book. Kill a team off then suffocate them with possession to ease to victory.
‘We decreased the intensity,’ Mourinho said. ‘It made it easier for them.’
Still their utter domination in Albion’s half allowed for breaks.
Five minutes after the restart John Terry was denied by Foster with a powerful header and on 73 minutes Fabregas threaded a pass between five players to set Hazard free inside the box. He shimmied to put the goalkeeper off, before taking a shot.
Yet again, Foster was in the way.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois 6; Ivanovic 7.5, Cahill 7, Terry 7, Azpilicueta 7; Fabregas 8.5, Matic 7.5; Willian 7 (Ramires 86), Oscar 8 (Remy 79, 6), Hazard 8; Costa 8 (Drogba 83)
Subs not used: Cech, Luis, Zouma, Schurrle
Booked: Willian
Manager: Jose Mourinho 8

West Brom (4-2-3-1): Foster 8; Wisdom 6, Lescott 6, Dawson 5.5, Baird 5.5 (Gamboa 68, 5); Yacob 4, Gardner 6; Dorrans 6 (Morrison 84), Sessegnon 6, Brunt 5; Berahino 6 (Anichebe 78, 5)
Subs not used: Myhill, Ideye, McAuley, Samaras
Booked: None
Sent off: Yacob
Manager: Alan Irvine 6

Referee: Lee Mason 6.5
Man of the match: Cesc Fabregas
Attendance: 41,600

=================

Mirror:

Chelsea 2-0 West Brom: Early Costa and Hazard strikes see off resilient 10-man Baggies

Joe Mewis
First-half strikes from Costa and Hazard were enough for Jose Mourinho's side, as Ben Foster's heroics keep the score down at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea extended their lead at the top of the table to seven points thanks to first-half strikes from Diego Costa and Eden Hazard as the Blues saw off ten-man West Brom at Stamford Bridge.
Jose Mourinho's saw his side's unbeaten start to the Premier League season continue, but he may have hoped to have seen his side add a few more goals after the visitors played the final 60 minutes a man down following Claudio Yacob's red card.
Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas were both able to start for Jose Mourinho's side following the recent injuries that saw them miss out for Spain during the international break, with the Blues' only change from the win at Liverpool seeing Ramires included at the expense of Willian.
The visitors made four changes from the defeat to Newcastle with Claudio Yacob, Chris Baird, Craig Gardner and Stephane Sessegnon entering the fray.
It soon became apparent that the rest had done Costa's notoriously iffy hamstrings the world of good, as the Spain striker took advantage some extremely lax defending, receiving a flick from Oscar in the box before chesting it down and volleying past Ben Foster to open the scoring.
Jose Mourinho's men doubled their advantage half-way through the first half via an outrageous set piece that saw a low corner dummied into the box before Eden Hazard ghosted in to nutmeg Foster.
To compound the Baggies' misery, they were down to ten men five minutes later, when Claudio Yacob was given his marching orders for a reckless challenge on Costa.
At half-time it was looking like it was a question of how many Chelsea would score in the second half, but while the home fans waited for the floodgates to open, Baggies 'keeper Ben Foster set about having one of his best games in a West Brom shirt, pulling off numerous instinctive saves, few better than a brave smothering of Eden Hazard with 20 minutes left.
Add in a series of missed chances - Nemanja Matic was guilty of spooning an effort over the bar a minute after the break - and the Baggies were able to keep the score respectable.

Darren Lewis' full-time verdict
Chelsea record perhaps their easiest win of the season. Gone in 25 minutes. Costa and Hazard on target with Thibault Courtois seeing so little action he will not need to wash his shirt for Schalke on Tuesday night.
West Brom's Claudio Yacob made it even easier for the home side when he received a straight red card for a two-footed lunge on Costa just 28 minutes into the match.
After that Chelsea were in cruise control. They could have done with a third before half time - or maybe earlier in the second half - however. That would have enabled Jose Mourinho to rest some of his top stars for Tuesday night in the Champions League at Schalke.
But the Special One will settle for three points and Chelsea's grip on the title race being tightened even further.

Teams:
Chelsea: Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Matic, Fabregas; Willian, Oscar, Hazard; D Costa
Subs: Cech, Zouma, Filipe Luis, Ramires, Schurrle, Drogba, Remy
West Brom: Foster, Wisdom, Dawson, Lescott, Yacob, Baird, Gardner, Brunt, Dorrans, Sessegnon, Berahino
Subs: Myhill, Gamboa, McAuley, Morrison, Anichebe, Samaras, Ideye

Next fixtures:
◦Chelsea: Sunderland (A), Tottenham (H), Newcastle (A)
◦West Brom: West Ham (H), Hull (A), Aston Villa (H)

==============

Express:

Chelsea 2 - West Brom 0: All smiles at Stamford Bridge as Diego Costa stays on form


NO WONDER there was a smile on Jose Mourinho's face... his Chelsea side had just notched its best-ever start in the top division.
By: Colin Mafham

He admitted his players took their feet off the gas in the second half yesterday against a 10-man team that should have been dead and buried long before that.
But with a seven-point lead at the top of the table until tomorrow night at least and an unbeaten run that stretches back to April in all competitions, who's complaining?
His players had, he said, played some "brilliant, beautiful, high-quality football that was of another dimension."
And you have to ask, as it stands, who's going to live with them?
It didn't take long for that man Diego Costa to show how much of a say he in particular is going to have in the Premier League.
After spending the best part of 11 minutes backing off, West Brom paid the price for allowing Chelsea too much of the ball and the Spaniard punished them for it with another super strike and his 11th goal of a highly impressive season.
TV replays suggested he was offside, but referee Lee Mason and his assistants didn't see it that way and the Chelsea bandwagon rolled on.
If Ben Foster hadn't produced a cracking save from Oscar soon afterwards the Baggies would have been worse off rather sooner than they were.
The inevitable second came less than a quarter of an hour later, this time Eden Hazard clinically punishing the hapless visitors for failing to stop Cesc Fabregas's corner from reaching the unmarked Belgian.
Any doubts that this was well and truly over as a contest followed before even half an hour was up when Claudio Yacob was sent off for a reckless challenge on Costa.
He couldn't complain - but the visitors' fans certainly could.
They had good reason to expect more from a side that looked overawed by their hosts from the start of the match.
And let's be brutally honesty here, if it hadn't been for Foster's heroics the Albion could have been contemplating the sort of 8-0 hammering Sunderland got at Southampton . . . by the half-time whistle!
The first 45 minutes really were that one-sided.
As Albion coach Alan Irvine admitted: "There's been one 8-0 this season already and when you are two goals down, have just 10 men and there's an hour to go you fear the worst.
"But I spoke to the players at half time and the way they performed in the second half was, as Jose said, the best he'd seen a 10-man team play.
"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."
Even so, poor Foster didn't even have time to digest his half-time Bovril before he was called to the rescue again with another two timely saves from John Terry and Willian.
Apart from a herogram from his team-mates someone should at least send the match DVD to Roy Hodgson to have a look at!
Fortunately for him - and Albion - Chelsea took a leaf out of Shakespeare's book and chose some training practice rather than putting the proverbial boot in with a few more goals.
But there's no rest for the wicked, so they say - and Foster really was wicked yesterday in the best possible meaning of the word - so the keeper was called on again to deny Oscar and Chelsea for the umpteenth time.

MAN of MATCH: Ben Foster - If this superb show doesn't get him another England cap, nothing will.

=================

Star:

Chelsea 2 - West Brom 0: Seventh heaven for Mourinho as Costa and Hazard have boss purring
CHELSEA manager Jose Mourinho claimed his side were “beautiful, just beautiful” as they opened a seven-point gap at the top of the Premier League table.


By Tony Stenson

Diego Costa’s 11th goal of the season got them off to a flyer and ensured their best start to a campaign in top-flight football.
Eden Hazard added a second as Chelsea wasted the chance to fill their boots against a side that played with ten men from the 29th minute.
They are now unbeaten in 20 games and Mourinho, who once called Albion a “Mickey Mouse” side, looked like the cat who got the cream.
He admitted they should have scored more but blamed the international break for his side missing a host of chances.
Mourinho could not hide his delight, though, saying: “We were brilliant, beautiful, just beautiful in the first half. Our quality was high and credit to Albion for fighting back.
“We were so fast, we made the pitch look wide. How many times have I said the word beautiful about us? Not many times.
“I cannot say if this side is a great one because they haven’t won anything yet. It is about trophies but I am sure they will do that.”
It should and would have been a wider winning margin but for Mourinho’s men wasting a host of opportunities – and the bravery and skill of Albion keeper Ben Foster.
The Baggies were already under the cosh before they lost Claudio Yacob to a red card for a reckless lunge on Costa.
Then it became mission impossible.
Albion can rightly feel aggrieved as Chelsea’s first goal looked offside.
But they could not argue with the result – or Yacob’s red card. This was Chelsea in full flight – arrogant almost but showing quality and class.
How they did not score more will be one of the mysteries of the season.
Albion defended well but Chelsea should have gorged themselves on a goal feast.
Instead, they tried to walk the ball into the net.
Chelsea always seemed to have men spare, with Willian, Oscar, Cesc Fabregas and Hazard in total control.
Fabregas and Willian fed the attackers and Oscar, Hazard and Costa did the rest.
Add to that a Chelsea defence that was never troubled and you had one of the most one-sided games of the season.
It was ruthless and Albion had little to offer in response except Saido Berahino’s pace.
Chelsea took the lead in controversial style with Costa’s goal, though he looked offside before striking home Oscar’s 11th-minute cross.
The striker directed an effort inches wide eight minutes later as Chelsea continued to dominate.
Foster had already denied Chelsea in the fourth minute when he stuck out a leg to push wide a flick from John Terry, who had latched on to Oscars’ cross.
And the England keeper was at the ready again in the 15th minute to pull off a great one-handed save from Oscar, then block Costa as he powered in for the rebound.
Chelsea added a second in the 24th minute when Fabregas touched a low corner to the unmarked Hazard, who jinked then dropped his shoulder before hitting the ball past Foster with his left foot.
Then it became a turkey shoot with Chelsea players lining up to score and Albion looking increasingly flustered and frustrated.
That led to Yacob’s 29th-minute dismissal for a wild challenge on Costa.
Albion, who have not won at Stamford Bridge since 1978, were totally demoralised.
Out-numbered, they left Berahino alone up front and hoped for the best.
But against Terry and Gary Cahill, it was a hopeless task as Chelsea retained complete control without adding to their lead.
Albion manager Alan Irvine said: “Chelsea are an extremely good team and in this form you would certainly make them favourites for the title.
“Jose told me we put in a magnificent performance with ten men and I cannot argue with that, or the sending off. But I also thought their first goal was offside.
“It was a great finish but I won’t blame my defenders for an incorrect decision.”
Chelsea head to Germany tomorrow to play Schalke, now managed former player and boss Roberto Di Matteo, the only coach to land the Champions League for the club.
Mourinho said: “It will be tough. A win would see us through but we could also finish second or third. We must be careful.”