Chelsea Thrashes West Brom 4-0
Chelsea cruised to an easy away win over West Brom to increase the pressure on Baggies manager Tony Pulis.
Alvaro Morata scored his eighth Premier League goal of the season when he converted a rebound after Albion goalkeeper Ben Foster had parried Eden Hazard’s low shot.
Hazard made it 2-0 shortly after when he collected Morata’s flick and took the ball around Foster, before Marcos Alonso volleyed in a third from Cesc Fabregas’ free-kick.
In the second half, Hazard scored his second of the game with a curled finish from 18 yards out after another excellent Fabregas pass.
The victory was Chelsea’s fourth successive league win, while West Brom remain without a win in all competitions since 22 August, a run of 11 games.
Chelsea move up to second, but they will drop down to third if Manchester United beat Newcastle in the late game.
With Chinese club owner Guochuan Lai at a Hawthorns match for the first time in six weeks, Albion fans booed their side off at half-time and again at the end as their side’s miserable season continued.
Albion won their first three matches in all competitions, but have not won since and this result leaves them 17th in the table, only one point and one place above West Ham.
Pulis, who has been the Albion boss since January 2015, was asked earlier this week if he would be surprised if he lost his job.
He replied: “No, not at all. If the club decide what they decide, I’ve got great respect for the football club, the supporters, the chairman, the board – it’s just life. It’s the way it is. If you don’t get results, you’re under pressure.”
But his side were outplayed by the reigning champions, with Albion only producing two shots on target and never seriously testing away goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Substitute James McClean shot wide when through on goal late on for West Brom, who have only scored three times in their last five matches.
Pulis guided his side to 10th last season, their best finish in four years, but faces an uncertain future after another poor performance from his side.
