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FIVE-STAR WEST BROM HAMMER CHELSEA TO END TUCHEL’S UNBEATEN START

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Relegation-threatened West Bromwich Albion gave their Premier League survival hopes a huge boost with a stunning 5-2 victory over 10-man Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday (April 3).

Chelsea, fourth in the table, took the lead just before the half-hour mark when Marcos Alonso’s free kick came off the post and Christian Pulisic scored from the rebound, the American winger’s first goal under manager Thomas Tuchel.

Two minutes later Chelsea defender Thiago Silva was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for a reckless challenge.

“There’s no need to concede five goals when you have our quality,” Tuchel told BBC Sport after Chelsea’s worst home defeat in nearly 10 years.

“We could not adapt to the situation, which is a surprise as we were leading. We’re normally confident enough to defend but we were sloppy and kept making big mistakes. We were punished hard and it’s tough to digest.”

West Brom used their numerical advantage to good effect as Matheus Pereira scored two goals in quick succession in first-half stoppage time to put the visitors ahead at the interval.

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They added two goals on the counter-attack five minutes apart in the second half, with Callum Robinson volleying home a Darnell Furlong cross before Pereira turned provider for Mbaye Diagne.

Chelsea pulled one back to make it 4-2 when Timo Werner set up substitute Mason Mount for a simple tap-in but West Brom scored their fifth in stoppage time when Robinson found space and chipped onrushing keeper Edouard Mendy.

-Reuters

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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