West Brom vs. Chelsea: Score and Reaction from 2015 Premier League Match

Defending Premier League champions Chelsea finally grabbed their first win of the season on Sunday, beating West Bromwich Albion, 3-2, at The Hawthorns in an entertaining match.

Pedro scored the opening goal in his Blues debut, immediately showing his class, but a red card for John Terry complicated matters for the visitors. Diego Costa and Cesar Azpilicueta also scored to give Chelsea a 3-1 lead at half-time, with James Morrison missing a penalty before scoring for the hosts.

The Blues appeared to be in full control until Terry got himself sent off, at which point the Baggies started pressing forward again. Morrison gave the home fans hope by scoring his second, but Chelsea easily defended their lead and deservedly bagged their first win of the season.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho shocked fans and pundits alike by putting new signing Pedro straight into the starting XI, just days after putting pen to paper on a deal with the Blues. Given that Sunday's match was played in dreadful conditions, Paddy Power couldn't help but make this observation:

From the opening minute, the Spaniard looked comfortable playing out on the wing for Chelsea, combining well with Eden Hazard and finding the open Costa with some regularity.

Despite Chelsea's strong start, West Brom nearly took the lead after just 14 minutes. Nemanja Matic brought down Callum McManaman inside the box, but Thibaut Courtois produced a block to deny Morrison, who blasted his penalty straight down the middle.

The Belgian stopper dived to one side but managed to keep the ball out with his legs, prompting wild celebrations from his team-mates, via ESPN FC's James Tyler:

The Baggies were left to rue the miss just minutes later, as debutant Pedro played a lovely one-two with Hazard before firing a deflected shot into the back of the net. Bleacher Report UK responded with this joke:

West Brom tried to push forward a little more, but Chelsea had little difficulty defending against their relatively toothless attack. With the exception of McManaman, there was little movement in front of goal, giving the Blues the ability to step into passing lanes and counter at will.

During one of those counters, the ball landed at the feet of Pedro, who showed his pace and vision in drawing the defenders toward him before playing the ball to Costa. The Spaniard, who hasn't looked particularly sharp so far this season, made no mistake from close range.

The Baggies were now in real danger of letting the match slide, but Morrison redeemed himself just minutes later, beating Courtois with a hard shot after some lovely work from James McClean. As Arlo White of NBC Sports noted, the forward seems to enjoy putting the ball in the centre of the goal:

The home side appeared happy going into half-time with the one-goal deficit, but Azpilicueta had other ideas. The defender made a run inside the box to find himself in open space after a great ball from compatriot Costa, finishing from close range to put the final score for the first half on the board.

Per Bleacher Report UK, it was clear Chelsea's Spanish stars had a point to prove on Sunday:

Chelsea appeared to be in full control of the match, but for the second time in three weeks, a single lapse of concentration in the defence turned the match on its head for the Blues. Salomon Rondon released behind the defence and Terry brought the Venezuela international down, and according to the official, he did so as the last man.

The result was a straight red card, reducing the Blues to just 10 men and handing all of the momentum back to the hosts. And after Morrison scored his second of the match minutes later to bring his team back within a single goal, football writer Henry Winter believed those rumours regarding another bid for Everton's John Stones will only get louder:

Costa came close to restoring the two-goal cushion but placed an acrobatic volley wide of the post, before McManaman nearly made the Blues defence pay for some sloppy play with a curling effort. Costa then squandered the best chance of the match, wildly firing over the bar after an excellent through ball from Cesc Fabregas that deserved better.

The better chances continued to fall to the Blues, and Hazard was the next to miss a beauty after a good pass from Matic. Chelsea's lack of efficiency in front of goal was a concern going into the final minutes of the match, and the Baggies nearly made them pay in injury time. Courtois produced one of the best saves of the young season, denying Rondon to preserve the win.

The Blues have finally gotten off the schneid and will host Crystal Palace next week, another match they're expected to win despite the Eagles' strong form early this season. Pedro seems to have adapted to his new surroundings quite well, and if Chelsea can carry over the momentum from this match, their title defence may have finally started in earnest.

West Brom will travel to Stoke City in a match between early-season disappointments, and while we're only a couple of weeks into the campaign, Saturday's clash looks as if it might already have major implications on the battle to avoid relegation.

Post-Match Reaction

As the Premier League's official Twitter account shared, Mourinho was more than happy with his team's performance Sunday:

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