Top-four race takes another twist as Callum Robinson brace helps West Brom thrash Chelsea
Chelsea 2 West Brom 5
Chelsea's Edouard Mendy reacts after Matheus Pereira scores West Bromwich Albion's second goal. REUTERS/Clive Rose.
Thomas Tuchel admitted he was surprised by his side's collapse after West Bromwich Albion ended the unbeaten start to his reign as Chelsea manager in stunning fashion with a 5-2 win at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea took an early lead through Christian Pulisic, but the game turned as Thiago Silva was sent off for two yellow cards after just 29 minutes, with his exit sparking an alarming collapse that ended with Tuchel’s 14-match unbeaten start at the helm coming to a startling end.
Matheus Pereira’s fine brace fired West Brom into a half-time lead as Chelsea's defence was rocked onto the ropes, before Republic of Ireland striker Callum Robinson claimed two goals of his own as relegation contenders West Brom sealed a first win in four league games.
"It is two games, 11 v 11 and then 11 v 10. There is no need to concede five goals when you have our quality, that's for sure but we are all in on that. Myself included," said Tuchel.
"We could not adapt to the situation which is a surprise as we were leading. We are normally confident enough to defend but we were sloppy and kept making big mistakes. We were punished hard and it's tough to digest.
"I didn't see the red card, I saw the two big mistakes in our own half before the yellow cards. That is not typical for us, we were rusty. We made easy mistakes and were punished. It was totally our fault.
"I did not see that second half coming. We tried to give a bit of security with a back three but we were never in a flow. We had some chances but we didn't defend well.
"We gave away two very easy goals. What could go wrong went wrong after the red card. We have to accept the big loss. We did big mistakes before the two yellow cards. There were too many easy ball losses. It was impossible for us to accept the situation.
"Every shot was a goal from them. Clearly it was not our day today. We will get the right response. First of all it's important we digest it. I did not see it coming, now we have to take our responsibilities - me included - and shake it off."
West Brom’s comprehensive victory proved their first win at Stamford Bridge since 1978 and is a massive boost to their hopes of getting out of the relegation zone.
"I am delighted," declared West Brom manager Sam Allardyce. "Not only with the win but the style, it has been coming for a while but our lack of finishing has cost us. What we saw today is what we have been missing. The quality of our goals and our football brought us a fantastic result. We were desperate for it.
"They went down to 10 men, deservedly so. Thiago Silva could have gone for his first foul. But on many occasions I have got a result with 10 men but we took Chelsea apart.
"We started really well, we pressed and didn't sit back. I had three weeks to think about this game and sort the tactics. We said let's go, let's go challenge them and it worked extremely well.
"For me, I would have liked to see Matheus Pereira get his hat-trick but that's being greedy I suppose. We need a few injured players to recover."
This was also a hugely significant result in the battle to secure a top four finish, with Tottenham now handed a chance to leap into fourth in the table if they beat struggling Newcastle on Sunday.
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