Sunday, February 18
 

Premier League

Result: Chelsea see off West Bromwich Albion to return to winning ways

Eden Hazard scores twice as Chelsea see off West Bromwich Albion 3-0 at Stamford Bridge to return to winning ways in the Premier League.

Chelsea have returned to winning ways in the Premier League with a 3-0 win over bottom side West Bromwich Albion at Stamford Bridge this evening.

Successive three-goal defeats had seen the pressure grow on Blues boss Antonio Conte, but his side dug deep to pick up just a fourth victory in 11 attempts this calendar year.

Eden Hazard was the star man on the night with two goals to his name, while Victor Moses netted in between as Chelsea picked up the three points required to move back into fourth place in the table.

Albion, boosted by the return of three previously injured players to their starting lineup, started the match brightly and had a strong call for a penalty turned down inside the opening 10 minutes.

Cesc Fabregas, brought in for the suspended Tiemoue Bakayoko, lunged in on Jay Rodriguez - an early sub due to yet another Daniel Sturridge injury setback - and was fortunate to avoid conceding a spot kick and being dismissed.

Rodriguez spurned a great opportunity moments later when drilling the ball wide from the edge of the box, despite having time to carry the ball closer to goal following a poor Moses header.

Albion's other big opening was wasted by Salomon Rondon, who could only direct a fizzed Matt Phillips delivery wide of the opposition target via his head.

Out-of-form Chelsea, unbeaten in 13 home matches against West Brom, slowly started to grow into the match and were good value for their goal when it arrived 25 minutes in.

Davide Zappacosta was denied by Ben Foster towards the back post, while Olivier Giroud was also thwarted by the English goalkeeper prior to Hazard's breakthrough moment.

Giroud was heavily involved in the move on his first start for the club, holding off Ahmed Hegazi in the box and feeding a return pass into the path of Hazard to sweep the ball past Foster into the bottom corner.

Albion saw more of the ball between Chelsea's opener and half time, but it was the Blues who were looking the more lively with some decent interplay in the final third.

Visiting boss Alan Pardew changed things around at the break by bringing on Oliver Burke for Chris Brunt, meaning a switch to a 3-4-3 formation to match the Blues.

Chelsea were having to hold on to their lead, with Rondon getting the better of fit-again Andreas Christensen shortly before the hour, only for his one-on-one to hit Thibaut Courtois and fly into the side-netting.

Jonny Evans got his head to the resulting corner, sending the ball spinning narrowly over the bar, but the missed chances would prove costly as the home side soon doubled their advantage.

Another give-and-go proved to be Albion's undoing, this time after Moses exchanged passes in the box - the final touch coming off Craig Dawson - and coolly placed the ball past Foster.

A third goal would arrive through some more smart work from Hazard who, moments after seeing Moses kept out by the leg of Foster, cut inside on his left and smashed the ball past the wrong-footed keeper.

Alvaro Morata was brought off the bench for his return to action and forced Foster into another save inside the final 10 minutes, proving to be the final piece of meaningful action on a happier night for Conte and his players.

CHELSEA (3-4-3): Courtois; Azpilicueta, Christensen (Cahill 74'), Rudiger; Moses, Kante, Fabregas, Zappacosta; Pedro (Willian 80'), Giroud (Morata 61'), Hazard

WEST BROMWICH ALBION (4-4-2): Foster; Gibbs, Evans, Hegazi, Dawson; Brunt (Burke 46'), Barry (Yacob 80'), Krychowiak, Phillips; Sturridge (Rodriguez 4'), Rondon

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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City27233179205972
2Manchester UnitedMan Utd27175551193256
3Liverpool27159361313054
4Chelsea27165649232653
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs27157552242852
6Arsenal27136851361545
7Burnley279992124-336
8Leicester CityLeicester2798103940-135
9Everton2797113246-1434
10Bournemouth2787123141-1031
11Watford2786133747-1030
12West Ham UnitedWest Ham2779113446-1230
13Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2777132536-1128
14Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton27610112236-1428
15Crystal Palace2769122542-1727
16Swansea CitySwansea2776142037-1727
17Huddersfield TownHuddersfield2776142347-2427
18Southampton27511112840-1226
19Stoke CityStoke2767142753-2625
20West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom27311132140-1920
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Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City27233179205972
2Manchester UnitedMan Utd27175551193256
3Liverpool27159361313054
4Chelsea27165649232653
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs27157552242852
6Arsenal27136851361545
7Burnley279992124-336
8Leicester CityLeicester2798103940-135
9Everton2797113246-1434
10Bournemouth2787123141-1031
11Watford2786133747-1030
12West Ham UnitedWest Ham2779113446-1230
13Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2777132536-1128
14Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton27610112236-1428
15Crystal Palace2769122542-1727
16Swansea CitySwansea2776142037-1727
17Huddersfield TownHuddersfield2776142347-2427
18Southampton27511112840-1226
19Stoke CityStoke2767142753-2625
20West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom27311132140-1920
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