- Drogba (3), Lampard (45)
- Date:2008-12-26
- Kick-off:13:00
- Venue:Stamford Bridge
- Attendance:43417
- Referee:Styles, R
Live Commentary
90mins
Full-Time: CHELSEA 2-0 WEST BROM. Chelsea claim three valuable points thanks to goals in the first half from Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard.
85mins
Gianni Zuiverloon looks to have picked up an ankle injury.
85mins
Frank Lampard's right-foot drive is deflected into the arms of Scott Carson.
83mins
Nicolas Anelka's low right-foot strike is into the arms of Scott Carson.
81mins
Juliano Belletti's ball into the area is cleared away by Jonas Olsson.
78mins
Joe Cole is replced by Souza Deco for Chelsea.
77mins
Paul Robinson sticks to his task, giving Joe Cole no chance to go past him.
75mins
Chris Brunt's high ball for Luke Moore is headed back to his keeper by Juliano Belletti.
73mins
Michael Ballack is shown yellow for a foul on Chris Brunt.
70mins
Joe Cole crosses the ball but Scott Carson collects for West Brom.
68mins
Roman Bednar replaces Kim Do-Heon for the visitors.
68mins
Luke Moore's strike is blocked by Branislav Ivanovic before going out for a corner.
66mins
Florent Malouda comes on for goalscorer Didier Drogba.
64mins
Nicolas Anelka makes a great run, feeding the ball to Didier Drogba who's shot is well saved by Scott Carson.
64mins
Didier Drogba is back on his feet.
63mins
Didier Drogba looks to have picked up a knock.
60mins
Luke Moore comes on for Craig Beattie for the Baggies.
58mins
Frank Lampard looks to chip the ball over Scott Carson but scoops it into the hands of the keeper.
56mins
Chris Brunt's left-foot strike tests Chelsea keeper Petr Cech.
54mins
Didier Drogba uses his strength to go past two players but his shot is straight down the throat of Scott Carson.
53mins
Joe Cole looks to cross from the right but the angle is too tight.
51mins
Juliano Belletti charges forward but his strike is high and wide of the target.
49mins
Branislav Ivanovic tries to find Frank Lampard at the back post but Scott Carson drops on the ball.
47mins
Michael Ballack's ball to Ashley Cole is cleared away.
46mins
Juliano Belletti replaces Bosingwa for Chelsea.
46mins
The second half is underway.
45mins
Half-Time: CHELSEA 2-0 WEST BROM. Chelsea lead at the break courtesy of Drogba's early header and Lampard's strike just before the break.
45mins
CHELSEA 2-0 WEST BROM. LAMPARD clips the ball past Scott Carson following an excellent run by Ashley Cole.
44mins
Frank Lampard's low ball across the face of goal is scurried away by West Brom.
42mins
James Morrison makes good progress but his ball into the area is cleared.
40mins
Ashley Cole fires just wide, although he is then waved offside by the referee's assistant.
38mins
Chris Brunt's ball into the area comes off Jose da Silva Bosingwa for a corner.
35mins
Ashley Cole power-drive is tipped onto the post by Scott Carson.
33mins
Michael Ballack low drilled effort is comfortably collected by Scott Carson.
31mins
Chris Brunt's first-time ball floats harmlessly over the crossbar.
29mins
Jose da Silva Bosingwa clips a ball across the six-yard area but there's no Blue shirt to convert the ball.
27mins
Leon Barnett replaces the injured Abdoulaye Meite.
27mins
Frank Lampard's cross is headed away by Jonathan Greening who picks up a knock.
25mins
Abdoulaye Meite looks to have pulled a hamstring.
23mins
Branislav Ivanovic does well to clear the ball from Craig Beattie's attempted pass into the danger area.
21mins
Kim Do-Heon looks to let the ball run through for Jonathan Greening but Frank Lampard mops up for Chelsea.
19mins
Frank Lampard slices a left-foot shot wide of the target.
17mins
The atmosphere at Stamford Bridge is slightly flat at the moment.
15mins
Kim Do-Heon fires straight into the arms of Petr Cech.
15mins
Ashley Cole's long ball forward for Michael Ballack is intercepted by Jonathan Greening.
13mins
Alex and Petr Cech have a moment of miscommunication, Alex eventually volleying clear.
11mins
Joe Cole looks to play the ball down the left for Nicolas Anelka but there is a bit too much weight on the pass.
9mins
Scott Carson juggles the ball from Frank Lampard's free kick before finally clasping it in his hands.
7mins
West Brom look to break as Frank Lampard loses possession but Alex is on hand to avert the danger.
5mins
Jose Bosingwa's high ball into the area is headed away by Jonathan Greening.
3mins
CHELSEA 1-0 WEST BROM. Joe Cole's cross to the back post is headed home powerfully by DROGBA.
3mins
Chris Brunt's left-foot drive from 25 yards flies wide of the upright.
2mins
Craig Beattie is pulled up for a foul as he looks to use his strength.
1mins
Referee Rob Styles gets what is set to be a cracking festive clash underway.
0mins
Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba start upfront for Chelsea. Deco drops to the bench.
0mins
Jonathan Greening starts after suffering from double vision against Manchester City.
0mins
John Terry misses the game as he starts a three-match ban.
Match Preview
Chelsea will be confident of picking up three Boxing Day points when they host rock-bottom West Brom on Friday, a team they haven't lost to for over 20 years.
Their away record may be the best in the Premier League but their form at home, since Liverpool broke their four-year unbeaten spell at Stamford Bridge, has been poor with only one good showing in two months - the 5-0 hammering of Sunderland at the start of November.
Ricardo Carvalho has finally returned to training and is likely to face Albion, particularly as John Terry is suspended following his red card in the goalless draw at Everton.
With Michael Essien (knee) and Franco Di Santo (hamstring) both out, the perennial dilemma for Scolari is how to use Didier Drogba and the Premier League's top scorer, Nicolas Anelka, to the greatest effect.
Their apparent dislike of playing in tandem has frustrated the Brazilian boss, who spoke matter-of-factly about the pair this week, when he said: "If the players don't have that confidence, it is impossible."
Until around 15:20 on Sunday afternoon West Brom would have looked at this fixture with dread, but Roman Bednar's 90th-minute winner against Manchester City has given the Baggies a Christmas boost.
Luke Moore in particular was delighted after the match. The former Aston Villa striker netted the first of Albion's two goals against City, his first strike for the Baggies since a £3million summer move.
"It's always a boost to score and, as a striker, I think I can kick on from here now," he said. "I feel good. If I'm starting games, I can only get better and I believe I can score goals. I'm not content to be here and just pick up my money - I want to play."
The 22-year-old should have done enough to secure his place in the team but, with Ishmael Miller out for the season with a knee ligament injury, all of the team's remaining strikers are being given a chance by manager Tony Mowbray.
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Match Report
Didier Drogba showed Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari that a "Drog is for life and not just for Christmas".
The Ivory Coast hitman scored the opener and ran the West Brom defence ragged before being substituted on 66 minutes.
Frank Lampard scored the other goal which dispatched relegation-haunted West Bromwich Albion with consummate ease at Stamford Bridge.
Scolari installed Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Joe Cole as a three-man attack and the plan worked as the early goal at home, which has eluded Chelsea of late, came for the Blues on three minutes.
Drogba pounced on a deep right-wing cross by Joe Cole to plant a powerful header from eight yards out across the path of Albion goalkeeper Scott Carson and into the far corner of the net.
That should have opened the floodgates but the visitors dug in deep.
But it took until the 15th minute for them to have their first effort on goal - a Kim Do-Heon left-foot strike from just outside the Chelsea penalty area on the left. It was on target, but easily held by Petr Cech.
A fine three-man combination on 20 minutes involving Ashley Cole, Anelka and finally Lampard saw the midfielder ghost into the opponents penalty area and unleash a first-time left-foot shot, but sadly for the Chelsea skipper the ball sailed high and wide into the Shed stand.
Michael Ballack forced a smart save from Carson on 33 minutes when his long-range right footer fizzed across the Stamford Bridge turf.
Ashley Cole almost doubled the scoring on 35 minutes when he escaped his defensive marker Gianni Zuiverloon and let fly with a vicious left footer. Carson parried the ball onto the woodwork before seeing the ball bounce back to the left-back but this time his right footer was scuffed to Carson's grateful grasp.
The second goal came on the stroke of half-time and it was pure class. Joe Cole teased Albion on the left before sending a deft throughball to Ashley Cole. The ball deflected off the toe of substitute Leon Barnett to Lampard who chipped the ball delicately over Carson from eight yards out.
Scolari replaced Jose Bosingwa with Juliano Belletti at half-time.
Chris Brunt had a fine left-foot strike on the Chelsea goal on 56 minutes. The 20-yarder swerved in the air, but Cech was alert and positioned himself well to save easily.
Lampard then tried to repeat his first goal by chipping Carson on 59 minutes, but this time the goalkeeper stayed on his feet and plucked the ball easily out of the air.
Drogba almost scored his second on 65 minutes, blasting a rasping right footer which Carson stopped well. He was then substituted and with it Chelsea's most potent attacker and the match was effectively over.
Chelsea ran out easy winners and went top of the Premier League for a couple of hours at least while the Baggies can only look in desperation at the trap-door opening ever so slowly on their stay in the top flight.
Chelsea Team
West Bromwich Albion Team
Chelsea | West Bromwich Albion |
Corners
| 7 | 5 |
Fouls
| 7 | 7 |
Goal attempts
| 24 | 6 |
Shots off target
| 8 | 4 |
Offsides
| 3 | 3 |
87mins
Florent Malouda's volley from a tight angle is drilled into the side-netting.