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Player Ratings: West Bromwich Albion 2-3 Chelsea

Sports Mole rates the performances of the players on show during Chelsea's 3-2 away victory at West Bromwich Albion.

Debutant Pedro was among the goals as Chelsea recorded a 3-2 win away at West Bromwich Albion this afternoon.

The £21m man's strike was accompanied by first-half efforts from Diego Costa and Cesar Azpilicueta, while James Morrison, who saw a penalty saved by Thibaut Courtois with the scoreline level at 0-0, pulled one back.

After the restart Chelsea skipper John Terry was red carded, but despite conceding another Morrison goal, the away side held out to claim all three points.

Here, Sports Mole has looked back over the contest to rate the displays of the players that were on show at The Hawthorns.


WEST BROM

James Morrison of West Bromwich Albion scores his team's second goal with a header during the Barclays Premier League match between West Bromwich Albion and Chelsea at The Hawthorns on August 23, 2015 © Getty Images

Goal

Boaz Myhill: It was a frustrating outing for Myhill, who had five shots to contend with, three of which beat him. In defence of the goalkeeper, there was little that he could have done to prevent any of the goals. (6/10)

Defence

Craig Dawson: Playing at right-back, Dawson missed a good headed chance, but will feel that he dealt with the threat of Hazard quite well. (6/10)

Gareth McAuley: When Costa is in this type of form, he will cause problems for the best centre-backs in the world so McAuley should not feel any shame in having struggled to shackle the fiery Spaniard. (5/10)

Jonas Olsson: Similar to his defensive partner McAuley in that he found it tough to contend with the threat of Costa. (5/10)

Chris Brunt: Although not naturally a left-back, Brunt did okay. For much of the game he was up against the lively Pedro, who posed a threat, but Brunt can hold his head up high. (6/10)

Midfield

Claudio Yacob: Operating in the defensive midfield role, Yacob carried out his duties well. He covered plenty of ground and made some decent challenges. (6/10)

Darren Fletcher: The experienced Scot got lucky on a couple of occasions when he gave the ball away in dangerous areas of the pitch. (5/10)

James Morrison: Some players would have hid after missing an early penalty, but to Morrison's credit, he kept his head up and dragged his side back into the game by scoring two goals. (7/10)

Callum McManaman: More performances like this one and people will be calling for the winger to be in the England squad! It was a lively display from McManaman, who won a penalty and assisted his side's second goal. (8/10)

James McClean: The Irish winger flitted in and out of the game, but too often the quality of his final cross or pass was lacking. He was also booked for hacking out at Pedro during the first half. (6/10)

Attack

Salomon Rondon: The club-record signing didn't get too much service, but he can be content with the shift that he put in during his full debut. (6/10)

Substitutes

Rickie Lambert: He came on with West Brom trailing 3-2, but he struggled to make an impact or form any sort of understanding with Rondon. (5/10)

Serge Gnabry: The Arsenal loanee looked a little too eager to impress on his first outing at The Hawthorns - highlighted by a wild shot that flew over the bar when he should have crossed the ball into the area. (5/10)

Craig Gardner: There was only a couple of minutes remaining when the midfielder came on. (5/10)


CHELSEA

Chelsea's Spanish midfielder Pedro (R) celebrates scoring the opening goal with Chelsea's Spanish defender Cesar Azpilicueta (2nd R) and Chelsea's Brazilian-born Spanish striker Diego Costa during the English Premier League football match between West Bro© Getty Images

Goal

Thibaut Courtois: The Chelsea goalkeeper made an early impact when he saved Morrison's penalty and then showed his commanding presence to collect numerous crosses as the match wore on. (7/10)

Defence

Branislav Ivanovic: The Serbian once again looked a yard off the pace as he struggled to deal with the threat of West Brom's wide players. (4/10)

John Terry: Before he was sent off, Terry responded to being substituted last week with a solid display. But, the red card came as a result of his lack of pace, which is exactly why he was replaced seven days ago. (6/10)

Kurt Zouma: Introduced into the side at the expense of Cahill, the young Frenchman did little wrong. (6/10)

Cesar Azpilicueta: While the Spaniard will have been delighted to have scored his first ever Premier League goal, like Ivanovic, it was by no means his best performance defensively once again. (5/10)

Midfield

Nemanja Matic: Once a player that seemed to boss midfield battles with ease, Matic struggled today. Whereas before he ran proceedings, there were times when he left the back four exposed. (5/10)

Cesc Fabregas: Usually such a creative force, Fabregas gave away possession more times than any other player on the pitch. (5/10)

Willian: He may have been neat and tidy in possession once again, but his performance will be best remembered for the glaring chance that he missed towards the end of the first half. He was substituted after the restart following Terry's red card. (6/10)

Pedro: Within 30 minutes, the signing from Barcelona looked a snip at £21m. He opened the scoring, before setting up Costa for his goal. Aside from that, he offered more dynamism to the Chelsea attack before he was replaced looking a little tired in the closing stages. (8/10)

Eden Hazard: Still some way from his very best, there was at least the odd sign from Hazard that he is not too far away from rediscovering some decent form. He carried the ball well on occasions, although his finishing was poor. (6/10)

Attack

Diego Costa: Last season's leading goalscorer was too interested in fighting last week at the Etihad Stadium, but he let his football do the talking today. He scored an opportunistic goal, while his hold-up play was also really good. (7/10)

Substitutes

Gary Cahill: There were a couple of nervy moments for the masked defender after he came on to fill Terry's absence, but he helped to keep West Brom out in the closing stages. (6/10)

Radamel Falcao: There was one good chance for the Colombian, but not for the first time since he's been in England, he scuffed it wide. (5/10)

John Obi Mikel: The Nigerian came on with only a few minutes left to help protect the lead. (5/10)


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Chelsea's Spanish midfielder Pedro (R) celebrates scoring the opening goal with Chelsea's Spanish defender Cesar Azpilicueta (2nd R) and Chelsea's Brazilian-born Spanish striker Diego Costa during the English Premier League football match between West Bro
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