Chelsea escaped a humbling defeat at the hands of newly-promoted West Bromwich Albion on Saturday evening, coming from three goals down to draw 3-3 at the Hawthorns.
The Baggies got off to a flying start, when Callum Robinson drilled home a smart finish from the left-hand side of the penalty area after only five minutes. Chelsea tried to respond, but they shot themselves in the foot 20 minutes later, when Robinson robbed captain Thiago Silva of possession and slotted home clinically.
CR7 AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#WBACHE | #WBA pic.twitter.com/DGV1GY3nsQ
— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) September 26, 2020
Things went from bad to unbelievable just before the half-hour mark, as Kyle Bartley was given the freedom of the penalty area to tap home from a corner. And that was only the first half.
Chelsea came out swinging in the second half, with Mason Mount giving the Blues a flicker of hope with a long-range screamer, and then Callum Hudson-Odoi cutting the lead further following some nice link up play with Kai Havertz.
Frank Lampard’s men pushed for an equaliser, and they were rewarded in the 93rd minute, when Tammy Abraham tapped home from inside the six yard box to spare the Blues’ blushes.
So, let’s dive in to some ratings after a crazy 90 minutes at the Hawthorns.
Sam Johnstone (GK) – 6/10 – Smothered a long-range strike from Havertz early in the first half. Assumedly unsighted for Mount’s strike, considering he didn’t move.
Darnell Furlong (RB) – 7/10 – Coped with the threat of Mount on the left, and got forward whenever possible. One of the better performers in a dismal second half.
Semi Ajayi (CB) – 6/10 – Stood firm against the height and physicality of Abraham, repelling everything that came into the box. Undone for Chelsea’s second goal by some nice movement. Couldn’t get it over the line.
Kyle Bartley (CB) – 7/10 – Popped up with a cheeky goal. Delivered a much more assured display than in previous weeks. Appeared to shush an empty stadium. Plenty of time for that.
Dara O’Shea (CB) – 6/10 – Coped well in the first half, but struggled in the second as Chelsea began to grow in stature and confidence. Gave Abraham little space throughout the match.
Conor Townsend (LB) – 7/10 – Linked nicely with Diangana on the left-flank, doing his defensive duties manfully and providing plenty of width on the rare occasion West Brom forayed forward.
Matheus Pereira (RM) – 7/10 – Always offered some lovely skills and touches on the ball, possessing bags of star quality. Did the dirty work, too. Got the assist for the opener. Classy.
Jake Livermore (CM) – 6/10 – Started very well, but couldn’t get a foothold in a one-sided second half. Looked leggy towards the end. Just not enough.
Romaine Sawyers (CM) – 6/10 – Didn’t lack heart or desire, but quality was not always there. Went close with an effort from distance in the second half.
Grady Diangana (LM) – 8/10 – Bags of energy. So much effort and running. Diangana gave West Brom a wonderful outlet on the left, never afraid of taking on his man or buying some precious seconds for his teammates. An exciting talent.
Callum Robinson (ST) – 9/10 – Playing as a lone forward is not easy – unless you’re up against Chelsea, apparently. Robinson finished excellently for the first goal, and was gifted his second, but he made his own luck in this game. Great performance.
Hal Robson-Kanu (ST) – 6/10
Matt Phillips (RM) – 6/10
Sam Field (LM) – N/A
Willy Caballero (GK) – 5/10 – Who would be a Chelsea goalkeeper? Left hopelessly exposed by shoddy defending and individual mistakes. Can only feel sorry for Caballero, really.
Reece James (RB) – 6/10 – Probably doesn’t deserve to be lumped in with the rest of this defence. Offered plenty going forward, but was far from his best display, either.
Andreas Christensen (CB) – 5/10 – Gets a 5, purely because it was impossible to be as bad as Silva. Still a shocking display from a very unconvincing defender.
Thiago Silva (CB) – 4/10 – Where to start? Probably with the absolute clanger he dropped, then watched on his knees as it went punished. Signed to shore up the defence, then conceded three in 30 minutes. How do you think he played?
Marcos Alonso (LB) – 4/10 – That bad that he actually got hooked off at half-time. In fairness, we all knew Alonso was rubbish at defending anyway. Lampard seemingly the only one surprised by that news.
N’Golo Kante (CM) – 5/10 – Looked miles off the pace. Miles. Failed to snap into his usual tackles and interceptions, allowed the game to float beyond him and simply didn’t look to have it in him. Whatever it is.
Mateo Kovacic (CM) – 5/10 – Miserable half of football. Failed to get a grip of the game from the off, and the 45 minutes passed him by. Substituted by a raging Lampard.
Kai Havertz (CAM) – 6/10 – Largely anonymous yet again from the big-money signing. Struggled to find space but bagged a nice assist with a cheeky ball to Hudson-Odoi for the second goal. Better?
Mason Mount (RW) – 8/10 – Gave Chelsea hope with a wonderful strike from distance in the second half. Typically energetic performance, if lacking a killer ball at times.
Tammy Abraham (ST) – 6/10 – Failed to link up with his teammates, never looked threatening in the box and gave the centre-backs a comfortable afternoon. Right place right time for the equaliser though, so fair play.
Timo Werner (LW) – 7/10 – Missed a great chance early in the first half which could have changed the outlook of the game. Much more lively in the second period. Stretched the Baggies.
Two changes at the break.
?? Hudson-Odoi
?? Kovacic?? Azpilicueta
?? Alonso3-0 [46′] #WBACHE pic.twitter.com/cl9cmy72zi
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 26, 2020
Callum Hudson-Odoi (LW) – 8/10
Cesar Azpilicueta (LB) – 7/10
Olivier GIroud (ST) – 7/10
Let’