Football is a game of two halves and it was clearly evident today as Chelsea, after a woeful first half performance and being a goal down, managed to pull back 2 goals in the 2nd half to register a much needed victory.
Chelsea’s looked sloppy in the first few minutes and were made to pay in the 5th minute as West Brom’s new recruit Shane Long managed to outmuscle Alex and hit the back of the net with a cool finish. Even Cech couldn’t have done any better. Stamford Bridge suddenly went quiet.
Things were going as per plan for West Brom as they defended deep and relied heavily on counter attacks. The closest Chelsea came were with two shots, one from Kalou and one from Torres, both of which went high and wide and added to Chelsea’ misery.
Albion looked close to doubling the lead through a brilliant counter attack when Long zoomed past Terry and Alex but somehow failed to find Tchoyi. The score remained 1-0.
After 35 minutes of stale and sloppy play, AVB made a brave decision and took off Kalou who was replaced by Malouda who instantly added more pace to Chelsea’s game.
Nearing the end of the first half, Anelka, and most of the Shed End crowd had a blatant penalty appealed rejected by the referee when Anelka felt he was fouled inside the box by Foster. Replays suggested that Foster got Anelka but got none of the ball. Another poor refereeing decision?
The first half drama was far from over as Chelsea came close to scoring in extra time at the end of the 1st half after a foul on Torres just outside the box resulted in an Alex free kick which got deflected only to be saved by Ben Foster.
Andre Villas Boas’ team talk after a shocking first half probably made all the difference in the 2nd. Chelsea looked an altogether different side and played with more pace and looked determined to get the two goals which would ensure 3 points.
Chelsea got the first breakthrough in the 53rd minute when a Lampard pass was efficiently intercepted by Anelka who found the back of the net with a trademark finish from a tight angle, his first Premier League goal since February.
Chelsea continued to pile on pressure and West Brom continued to be resilient to the wave of attacks that ensued post Anelka’s goal. Apart from one instance where Tchoyi’s shot forced a heroic save from Hilario, Chelsea were completely dominating the proceedings.
The Stamford Bridge faithful had to wait until the 83rd minute when Bosingwa ran past two defenders with the ball only to provide a brilliant, yet lethal low cross. Result? An uncomplicated finish from Malouda which ensured 3 points for Chelsea and gave Andre Villas Boas’ side a much needed win.
Chelsea managed to knick 3 points inspite of a dreary first half performance, and as the saying goes, things can only get better for Chelsea from here on.
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