Didier Droga Hat Trick Pushes Chelsea Past West Brom 6-0

It had been raining most of the day in London and rained during some of the match as well, but that did not bother the Stamford Bridge faithful.

The rain that the Chelsea home fans observed and reveled in was that of raining goals as the English Premier League season was launched in with a 6-0 shutout of visiting West Brom before 41,589.

The whitewashing marked a sad homecoming for former Chelsea performer Roberto di Matteo, who returned to Stamford Bridge as West Brom’s manager and received a warm response from the crowd.

Last season Chelsea began with six victories in a row and eventually won both the English Premier League championship as well as the FA Cup. Didier Drogba achieved 29 goals in league play and won the Golden Boot for the season.

Carlo Ancelotti’s team last season scored 103 goals and capped off the regular season with an 8-0 drubbing of Wigan. So the question that emerged as the 2010 season beckoned was this: What do you have in store for an encore?

One match does not make a season, but the lid lifter Saturday at Stamford Bridge with three goals from last season’s top goal producer demonstrated that Ancelotti’s gun slingers are prepared for action and that opposing defenses stand warned that this is a team that loves to attack.

A pleasurable element emerging for Ancelotti on a day filled with pleasantries was the play of Florent Malouda, who performed the role of a human scoring bookend by beginning and concluding Chelsea’s goal producing activity.

Malouda served notice on West Brom and everyone watching that the big time Chelsea scoring machine of last season was back as he produced a goal from six yards out in the sixth minute.

With the score standing at 1-0 and the teams completing added time it looked as if West Brom was very much in the match, able to play conservatively enough to give the visitors a shot at an upset.

Drogba changed that thinking with a slashing free kick that found a hole between two West Brom players on a wall that could have used more solidity. The lesson is that one does not make such mistakes on free kicks against championship teams and expect to survive.

The late goal occurring as time was ready to expire changed the entire nature of the match. The forces of Roberto di Matteo would be compelled to play a more aggressive attacking game in the second half, rendering it more vulnerable to counter attack from Chelsea.

The goals came thick and fast in the second half. Following a Youssuf Mulumbu clearance an alert Drogba pounced on the ball and booted in a six-yarder in the 55th minute.

Frank Lampard struck from 12 yards out in the 63rd minute. The reliable Lampard has chalked up 20 or more goals in his last five seasons.

From there it was Drogba completing his hat trick in the 68th minute with a strike from a wide angle.

The final goal of the afternoon was a thing of beauty. Malouda coolly dribbled to the right of the goal and niftily popped in a shot that looked as if it had eyes as it found the net.

If there was one lesson to be learned from anyone seeking to comprehend the essence of Chelsea strength it was to beware of its ferocity in the set piece game. Here is a team that swarms to get within range of the goal.

In an endeavor to stop the swarm and prevent a goal it is easy for a foul to occur as harried defenders react to the surge. Commit a foul and one faces the consequences of Drogba and his blistering goal ward kicks.

On the defensive side, Chelsea was vigilant enough to protect its own goal as goalkeeper Scott Carson secured a clean sheet.

After the match Ancelotti predicted that it would be “a fantastic season for the Premier League.”  Chelsea’s mentor said that the goal surrendered by West Brom just before intermission was the turning point of the match. He also stated that Drogba is playing well despite “not being 100 percent.”

That statement must sound terrifying to opposing EPL defenders, begging the question:

“What will Drogba be like when he reaches 100 percent of his playing potential?”