Chelsea 2-5 West Brom: Player Ranking
Chelsea were stunned by a top-flight finish from West Brom at Stamford Bridge to mark a first defeat for manager Thomas Tuchel since taking over at the end of January.
Chelsea took the lead through Christian Pulisic before collapsing under the pressure of a Baggies wave inspired by a first half from Matheus Pereira. Callum Robinson made it 3-1 before Mbaye Diagne extended the lead again.
Mason Mount pulled one back, but West Brom got a fifth with Robinson’s second.
Thiago Silva was sent off in the first half | CLIVE ROSE / Getty Images
Edouard Mendy (GK) – 5/10: Caught in no man’s land for West Brom’s first goal. Probably not commanding enough in other cases.
Cesar Azpilicueta (CB) – 4/10: Fought to fight with West Broms attack threat.
Thiago Silva (CB) – 2/10: Looked rusty after his long-awaited return from injury and was sent off after only half an hour as a result of two yellow cards.
Kurt Zouma (CB) – 4/10: Easily beat by a long clearance that allowed West Brom to return to the game. Not his best day.
Kovacic battled Clive Rose / Getty Images during the first half
Reece James (RM) – 6/10: Saw a threat ahead but it was his weak pass that led to West Brom’s decisive second goal.
Jorginho (CM) – 5/10: Did not get control of the game and typically gave away the ball quite regularly.
Mateo Kovacic (CM) – 6/10: Bad in the first half but lifted his game after the break. Not enough of his teammates followed.
Marcos Alonso (LM) – 5/10: Saw that his free kick tipped over the post but Pulisic followed it in. Was not strong enough defensively for West Brom’s others.
Still no goals for Timo Werner | Clive Rose / Getty Images
Hakim Ziyech (RW) – 5/10: Wasted a good early chance to counter with a bad pass. Sacrificed tactically when Silva was sent off.
Timo Werner (ST) – 6/10: Still did not get his much needed goal but got an 11th assist of the season and at least looked like a threat. Probably Chelsea’s best player.
Christian Pulisic (LW) – 5/10: Reacted the fastest to turn in the return from Alonso’s free kick but did not do enough else to motivate to stay at half time.
Andreas Christensen (CB) – 5/10: Replaced Thiago Silva and was not the only Chelsea player who could not answer the questions asked of him.
Mason Mount (CM) – 6/10: Wrong on West Brom’s fourth goal, but quickly compensated for it when he scored Chelsea’s second.
Kai Havertz (AM) – 6/10: Showed good movement and intention but West Brom’s defense made it difficult to make it a real impact.
Jonhstone put on an impressive display | Clive Rose / Getty Images
Sam Johnstone (GK) – 7/10: Did everything that was asked of him. Even did a top fingertip in building up to the opener but was powerless to prevent the return from going in.
Darnell Furlong (RB) – 7/10: Excellent against his father’s old team.
Dara O’Shea (CB) – 6/10: Did his job well while he was on the field but injury ended cruelly on his afternoon halfway through the first half.
Kyle Bartley (CB) – 8/10: Marshalled the defense extremely well.
Semi Ajayi (CB) – 7/10: Another Baggies center-back who stood up to be counted.
Conor Townsend (LB) – 7/10: Did a really good job of getting up and down the left flank.
A good performance from the Arsenal borrower | Clive Rose / Getty Images
Matt Phillips (RM) – 7/10: Unlucky to hit the crossbar when West Brom were on their way up in the first half stoppage time. Insert a strong shift.
Okay Yokuslu (CM) – 6/10: Quiet effectively in midfield.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles (CM) – 7/10: Makes it difficult for Chelsea’s midfielder to play his game.
Matheus Pereira (LM) – 9/10: A big threat even before Chelsea’s collapse and set the tone for the victory with two very well taken goals in the first half stoppage time.
Diagne did the fourth | Mike Hewitt / Getty Images
Mbaye Diagne (ST) – 7/10: Worked hard in a defensive form early on and was eventually rewarded for his disciplined performance with the fourth goal.
Branislav Ivanovic (CB) – 6/10: Came off the bench to replace O’Shea and ended up on the road himself after 13 and seemed to pull a hoarding while he expertly watched by Werner in a foot race.
Callum Robinson (LM) – 8/10: Started and finished the fantastic move that put his team 3-1 and continued their excellent record against Chelsea with another goal later.
Jake Livermore (CM) – Not applicable.
For more from Jamie Spencer, follow him on Twitter and Facebook!