LAST TIME OUT
The question marks on Frank Lampard’s appointment first started to appear when Chelsea visited the Hawthorns back in September.
West Brom were 3-0 up in only 27 minutes but the Blues managed to salvage a point sparing the former Blues boss from utter humiliation.
In truth, there were moments of good play from the Baggies but a catalogue of Chelsea errors is what ultimately almost cost Lampard’s side the game.
And it all started when Marcos Alonso headed the ball directly into the path of Matheus Pereira instantly putting Chelsea on the back foot.
The Brazilian drove into the abandoned space before using his composure to pick out Callum Robinson who had drifted to the left hand side.
But by the time the forward finally got the ball under control, there were already three Chelsea shirts surrounding him.
However, Robinson used his quick thinking to shift the ball onto his left foot and expertly picked his spot in the far corner completely catching Caballero off guard.
Lampard’s men responded well – Tammy Abraham squandered a great opportunity whilst Timo Werner hit the bar moments later.
Chelsea were knocking on the door and becoming increasingly close to securing the equaliser.
Until Thiago Silva who was heavily praised by the boss for his quality and experience before the game, allowed the ball to roll under his feet, presenting Robinson to pounce and get the better of Caballero for the second time.
And the third came two minutes later when Darnell Furlong got the flick on from a corner and it fell kindly for Kyle Bartley who was completely unmarked at the far post to guide it home.
Cesar Azpilicueta was one of the changes Lampard made after the interval and it was a good call because he assisted Mason Mount’s 25-yard strike which gave Chelsea some hope.
The other substitute was Callum Hudson-Odoi and he too got on the scoring act when the Englishman played a one-two with Kai Havertz before slotting the ball past Johnstone.
It was all Chelsea at this point and the visitors were hanging on for dare lives to get the three points.
But pressure made diamonds and when Johnstone failed to grasp Mason Mount’s shot, Abraham popped up on the scene to sneak in a third for the Blues.
