Chelsea vs. West Brom: Score, Grades and Reaction from Premier League Game

Diego Costa scored again as Premier League leaders Chelsea marched on with a comfortable 2-0 victory at home to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

Costa put Chelsea on their way with the opener in the 11th minute before Eden Hazard doubled the Blues' advantage midway through the half. 

West Brom played more than an hour with 10 men after Claudio Yacob was sent off for a two-footed challenge on Costa. Chelsea dominated both before and after the red card and could have scored several more goals if not for a strong performance from West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster.

The final score will hardly matter, though, either for Chelsea or Costa. With this latest win—their 10th in 12 league games this season—Chelsea remained unbeaten and maintained their eight-point advantage over defending champions Manchester City. Second-placed Southampton are now seven points behind but will have a chance to close the gap when they play at Aston Villa on Monday.

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

Costa, meanwhile, continues to display irresistible form, having scored his 11th league goal since joining Chelsea from Atletico Madrid in the summer. The Spain-international striker is the league's second-leading scorer, only one strike behind Manchester City's Sergio Aguero.

Up next for Chelsea is a match at Sunderland next Saturday. With nearly one-third of the season played, Jose Mourinho's side look increasingly likely to go through the entire campaign without a defeat. This week, in fact, former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry suggested, per BBC Sport, via MLSSoccer.com, that Chelsea could match the Gunners' Invincibles side that went unbeaten in 2003-04.

West Brom face another tough test next Saturday when they host top-four contenders Arsenal. The Baggies remain firmly in the bottom of the table and will be hoping for a result to keep them above the relegation zone.

Chelsea needed little time to start the onslaught, carving out a first chance in the fifth minute. Hazard and Cesc Fabregas combined on a short corner before Hazard rolled a cross into the middle for John Terry. The captain redirected the ball on target, but Foster scrambled clear to keep the match scoreless.

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

Six minutes later, Chelsea broke the deadlock. Oscar set up the goal, curling in a cross from the left to pick out Costa in the middle of the box. Costa chested the ball into the air and volleyed in past Foster as West Brom's defenders appealed for offside. Replays suggested it was a tight decision, with West Brom full-back Andre Wisdom perhaps playing Costa onside.

Chelsea nearly doubled their lead in the 15th minute. Hazard created space with a dribble on the left before cutting back for Oscar; the Brazilian hit his shot across the ball, but Foster made a good save to keep it out. 

Costa then flicked a first-time effort inches wide of the post in the 19th minute, but Chelsea wouldn't have to wait much longer for another goal.

It was only a matter of time before Chelsea found the net again, and Hazard obliged in the 25th minute. Taking advantage of poor defending, Hazard received a corner on the left side of the box and went around Craig Gardner with a deft first touch. The Belgian then finished at the near post for a 2-0 lead.

The situation worsened for West Brom in the 29th minute, as Yacob saw red for a tackle on Costa. Yacob did win the ball with his two-footed challenge, but by leaving his feet to do so, he gave referee Lee Mason little choice.

Chelsea were already in control by then, and with a numerical advantage, the Blues began to put on a show. In fact, if not for Foster's fine performance in West Brom's goal, the scoreline could have been much worse by half-time.

In the 36th minute, Foster saved comfortably from Oscar's cheeky back-heel shot. Six minutes later, Foster came off his line to stop Costa, then slid to deny Oscar. Chelsea wanted a penalty for the latter challenge, but Mason denied their appeals. 

Leading, 2-0, at half-time, Chelsea strolled through the second half.

In the 47th minute, an unmarked Nemanja Matic volleyed over at the back post from an Oscar cross. Foster palmed away a Terry header three minutes later, but the whistle had already blown for a foul.

The pattern remained the same throughout the second 45 minutes as Chelsea continued to dominate without finding the back of the net again. All that was left for Mourinho was to use his full complement of three substitutions, including a late cameo for Didier Drogba, who replaced Costa with six minutes left.

Grades

Starting XI	Rating
Substitutes	Rating
Thibaut Courtois	6.9
Branislav Ivanovic	7.4
Gary Cahill	7.3
John Terry	6.8
Cesar Azpilicueta	6.8
Nemanja Matic	7.3
Cesc Fabregas	8.4
Willian	6.7
Oscar	7.7
Eden Hazard	8.9
Diego Costa	6.9
Loic Remy (for Oscar, 79')	6.0
Didier Drogba (for Costa, 84')	6.0
Ramires (for Willian, 86')	6.1

Starting XI	Rating
Substitutes	Rating
Ben Foster	7.3
Andre Wisdom	7.3
Craig Dawson	7.5
Joleon Lescott	6.3
Claudio Yacob	4.9
Chris Baird	6.4
Craig Gardner	7.2
Chris Brunt	6.5
Graham Dorrans	6.7
Stephane Sessegnon	6.1
Saido Berahino	6.0
Cristian Gamboa (for Baird, 68')	6.1
Victor Anichebe (for Berahino, 78')	5.9
James Morrison (for Dorrans, 84')	6.0

Reaction

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho (via PremierLeague.com):

"

It was comfortable but in the first half we played amazingly well. In the first half we have to be 3-0, 4-0, 5-0 up, but the quality of our football was there. I don't remember seeing many times football of that dimension.

We made the pitch very wide, we created spaces in the central area and the result should be better than 2-0. We are playing well, we are getting the results that we deserve and I'm pleased that we did, especially after 15 days when I have no players to work with. But it's three important points."

It's easy to see the difference in Diego Costa now, because now he can run, he can sprint, he can challenge for every duel.

"

West Brom manager Alan Irvine (via PremierLeague.com):

"

Obviously this is a really difficult place to come - they're a top team. We were looking to get off to a good start and obviously the first goal after 11 minutes made it hard. We certainly had to have a shape about us and have discipline, but to lose those first couple of goals was obviously against what we were trying to do.

We had a gameplan which was made more difficult by the first goal which I think was offside. But the second one I was disappointed about - we pride ourselves on being organised at set-pieces and we weren't as organised as we should have been.

I can see why he sent Claudio Yacob off. I don't think Claudio was trying to do any damage to Diego Costa, he was trying to win the ball, but the rules are such that if your feet leave the ground with both feet you're not in control. It was a big, big task from the moment Claudio was sent off.

"