The Blues produced their worst display
of the Thomas Tuchel era and suffered a shock 5-2 defeat at home to the Baggies
Edouard Mendy
The Senegal international was perhaps slightly caught out
positionally for West Brom’s opening goal, scored by Matheus Pereira. But he
could do little about the Brazilian’s second.
Mendy did well in the second period to stop the West Brom
star from completing his hat-trick but was then beaten three more times. 5
Cesar Azpilicueta
The Blues skipper could do little about the West Brom goals,
but he has part of a backline that was breached on five occasions. A poor
afternoon. 4
Thiago Silva
The Brazilian’s return from a two-month injury lay-off
lasted less than 30 minutes. He was booked early on for a foul on Matheus
Pereira after Jorginho gifted possession to the West Brom winger.
Silva then brought down Okay Yokuslu moments after Christian
Pulisic had put Chelsea ahead and was shown his second yellow. 3
Kurt Zouma
Trusted on the left side of the back three, Zouma was
dominant in the air but was caught out by a long punt forward from Johnstone
for the Baggies’ equalizer.
Wasn’t able to keep West Brom at bay in the second period as
the visitors ran rampant. 4
Reece James
Like the rest of the Chelsea side, James started sluggishly
but his performance improved after Chelsea went down to ten men.
He twice forced Johnstone into saves and produced several
telling crosses from the right flank. Wasn’t at fault for any of the Baggies’
goals. 5
The Italian midfielder has produced his best football in a
Chelsea shirt since the appointment of Tuchel. But his display against West
Brom was one of his worst.
He was guilty of giving the ball away in the build-up to
both of Silva’s yellow cards and his passing radar was well off.
Jorginho also didn’t track midfield runners which left the
Blues defence exposed and was brought off after 72 minutes. 3
Mateo Kovacic
The Croatian has been one of the most reliable performers
under Tuchel but he also struggled against the Baggies.
He was poor in possession and, much like Jorginho, didn’t
track back quickly enough when caught up upfield. His performance alongside
Jorginho will be concerning with N’Golo Kante set to miss the midweek Champions
League clash with Porto. 4
Marcos Alonso
Came close to breaking the deadlock early on with a low shot
across goal and it was his free-kick that enabled Christian Pulisic to score.
But his defensive deficiencies and lack of pace were exposed by West Brom in
the second period. 5
Hakim Ziyech
The Moroccon star lasted just 33 minutes as it was he who
was sacrificed by Tuchel after the Blues had gone down to ten men. In truth,
Ziyech had started the game poorly and two poor passes halted promising Chelsea
attacks. 5
Timo Werner
There was plenty of endeavor from the German star and he was
unselfish to square for Mount to finish as Chelsea attempted a fightback. There
wasn’t a clear chance for Werner in the game once more. 5
Christian Pulisic
It was no surprise to see the U.S. star start given he had
almost a full week to prepare for the game. And Pulisic got on the scoresheet
on the half-hour mark, reacting quickest to convert after Alonso’s free-kick
struck the post. But he was brought off at half time with the Blues
trailing. 6
Substitutes
Andreas Christensen (for Hakim Ziyech, 33)
Was introduced shortly after Silva’s dismissal and at that
point, Chelsea had a clean sheet to protect.
Wasn’t directly at fault for any of West Brom’s goals but
the composure he has displayed in recent weeks evaporated in just 60
minutes. 4
Mason Mount (for Christian Pulisic, HT)
Brought on to try to help Chelsea mount a fightback, the
England international brought an energy that Chelsea lacked in the first half.
He got on the scoresheet but by that point, it was too late. 6
Kai Havertz (for Jorginho, 72)
Thrown on by Tuchel as the Blues tried to find a way back
into the game, Havertz couldn’t really have a major influence. 5
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