Boy, West Brom really has Chelsea’s number this season. After shellacking them earlier in September this season, only for Chelsea to come back and salvage a point, they did more than that today, scoring five goals and shattering Thomas Tuchel’s impressive goals against record. They also made Tuchel look foolish who had a chance at the half to salvage this game, only down 2-1, instead making a variety of substitution blunders, forced due to Thiago Silva’s red card in the 29th minute. I haven’t seen a manager panic like that in a while and make unhelpful subs throughout the rest of the game as West Brom piled one goal after another against arguably the Premier League’s most formidable defense.
Chelsea came into this game off an international break, where Christian Pulisic shined for the US team and got the start today. Unfortunately, due to international duty, Mason Mount sat to start, due to his heavy lifting for the England team along with Antonio Rudiger. Luckily, Chelsea’s depth could have really prevented what unfolded, however Tuchel’s selection and substitutions likely made this result all the more likely. Despite a plucky start with Pulisic, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech up front, West Brom had an early chance when Thiago Silva fell on the sword for a Jorginho errant pass in back end, earning a yellow card that would eventually get him a red later on. West Brom’s press, something that Leeds used to create problems for Chelsea a few weeks ago, proved effective early on, earning Silva that yellow and frustrating the back line. After Silva’s yellow card in the 4th minute, Chelsea controlled the ball pretty well for the next 20 minutes. Despite a rocky start, Ziyech started finding his form, hoping to rediscover his recent goal scoring prowess, creating several chances for Werner and Marcos Alonso. Reece James, again playing wing back, linked well with Ziyech as they spent the middle part of the first 45 bombarding the back line of West Brom, who held strong. Unfortunately, Chelsea really missed Mount in the first half, as Mateo Kovacic struggled with the West Brom press as well and couldn’t get an offensive rhythm despite his intense effort all game. Fortunately, all the poking and prodding by Pulisic earned Chelsea a juicy free kick in the 26th minute. An incredible free kick by Alonso gave Pulisic a delicious rebound chance which he buried for his third Premier League goal of the season. It was well earned by all involved and seemed to give Chelsea the well deserved lead.
After the goal, things fell apart. Jorginho and Kovacic combined as they had under Lampard for some dumb ass crap in their own end with poor passing that resulted in Thiago going in on reckless challenge that earned him his second yellow in the 28th minute. Again, Jorginho was really responsible for this, along with Kovacic, though Thiago went in harder than he should have on West Brom’s Okay Yokuslu. Tuchel made his only good sub, by adding in Andreas Christensen on for Ziyech, who took the bullet for Thiago, dashing the hopes of Ziyech who’d played really well so far. Chelsea still hung in there, possessing the ball well, even committing to playing out of the back despite West Brom’s constant pressure and some really close calls. It became readily apparent what Tuchel’s subs were at halftime as Marcos Alonso, now charged with more defensive duties struggled with pace and Jorginho felt the same pressure in the midfield. They really missed Kante today as well, who sat out due to injury. West Brom had their own injury problems as their sub Branislav Ivanović who came on for Dara O’Shea due to injury had his own hamstring popped by a streaking Timo Werner. Reece James continued his torrid pace on the right side, creating strong chances, though crucially missing a wide open Pulisic in the center of the box in the 41st minute. Even with Chelsea’s continued pressure, West Brom made their chances count, finally landing a long ball from goalie Sam Johnstone, who was delightful in goal, that Kurt Zouma and Edouard Mendy mis-judged, giving up the first goal of first half stoppage time. It didn’t end there though as more struggles clearing from the back led to another Jorginho heading error at the edge of his own box that gave Mattheus Pereira his second goal on the stroke of halftime. It was very unfortunate to go down like that after Pulisic’s goal, but nothing Chelsea couldn’t have overcome had the substitution apocalypse from Tuchel not followed.
I had to really stare at the second half squad because while I was overjoyed to see Mason Mount out there, I couldn’t see Pulisic. My supposition was that given Jorginho’s incredible mistakes in the first half that led to both Thiago Silva’s yellow cards and the second West Brom goal that Mount was go in for him, partnering in the 3-4-2-1 formation with Kovacic. But no. Pulisic was off, despite his recent form and goal scored with Mount inserted to bring his energy and skill to the game. It was too much to ask of Mount to try and score, while also defending with ten men, despite his best efforts. The first fifteen minutes really highlighted some of these players’ greatest weaknesses. Werner struggled with handling passes, first touch and challenging defenders, Alonso, despite me pleading with Tuchel in my head to put in Ben Chilwell, was outpaced and defended poorly while Kovacic fell to his worst instincts for holding the ball too long and not being sure what to do with it when given chances to showcase his creativity. Seriously, Timo got a great pass from Alonso in the middle of the box and he forgot what soft touch is and just kind of bumbled the ball at his feet before being handled by West Brom. At this point, I was pleading for Chilwell and finally Darnell Furlong got the best of Alonso, sending a delightful cross in which Callum Robinson confidently put into the back of the net in the 63rd minute to put the game farther out of reach. With Pulisic off and Alonso a zero on defense, just like he was in the September match, I had a feeling Chelsea weren’t going to come back and West Brom had more goals in them. The announcers were going on and on about how good Kovacic was playing, but I think it’s only because he only lost the ball half the time playing out of the back instead of every time. In the 66th minute, Mateo did a vintage Mateo move, dribbling too much, losing the ball, then reaching out for a late challenge that earned him a yellow card. He lost the ball so much in the second half, I couldn’t understand why on earth the announcers wouldn’t shut up about how well he was playing. Chelsea needs serious help in this midfield as Kante ages and if they think Billy Gilmour can do it, then he needs to actually play in these games against, in theory, bad teams. Two minutes later, West Brom scored again, slicing through a tired backline of James, Cesar Azpilicueta and Christensen to put this to bed.
Tuchel finally subbed Jorginho for Kai Havertz who proceeded to be an absolute zero as he has been for the past four months. Fine to get him minutes, but that dude needs a loan deal to a team like Crystal Palace or something, he’s borderline unplayable at this point. It might shatter his confidence, but his early season form fleeted so quickly that he’s looking like a flop. Mateo Kovacic continued his broken ass Messi impression as the game waned, losing the ball repeatedly and giving West Brom more chances. He really tried hard today, but again, the longer he holds the ball, the less he does with it. Chelsea managed a goal in the 71st minute because Timo knew he couldn’t finish a scrumptious chance, instead wisely getting the ball to Mount who gave the Blues some hope with 20 minutes left and two goals to go for a point. They came back from 3-0 in September so it wasn’t unreasonable for that though to enter my mind. Chelsea then fumbled away their chances, with more Kovacic shots sailing over the goal, poor touches in the box from Werner and some questionable referee no calls, including a dazzling display of fouls in the West Brom box on Werner, Havertz and Alonso in the 85th minute that appeared hardly legal challenges. West Brom added another goal in stoppage time, where at that point, they lazily passed through the depleted Chelsea backline, basically dribbling the ball into the net with a chipped ball over Mendy. It was the dingleberry on top of the shit sundae that was this game. I’m still frustrated by Tuchel’s lack of sense in this game, especially given his team’s generally great form lately. It didn’t have to be this way, Mount could have bolstered the midfield, allowing Pulisic’s danger to continue and maybe Chilwell was tired from England duty, but Marcos Alonso almost left the team after the outing in September, so if Chilwell could have played, he should have. His wingback skills are coming along nicely and he’s a much better defender than Alonso. I’m hoping this was an international schedule loss because FC Porto and a real chance at Champions League glory are right around the corner.
Bo's Gamut 