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Magnificent seven as Blues win away again

15/11/2008

Chelsea returned to the summit of the Premier League table with a record-breaking 3-0 win against West Brom at the Hawthorns.

The win is the Blues' seventh straight victory on their travels this season – a league record for the start of a new season – while the three away wins recorded at the end of the 2007/08 campaign mean Chelsea have won their last ten league games away from Stamford Bridge.

A first-half brace from Nicolas Anelka and a strike from Jose Bosingwa gave Luiz Felipe Scolari's side the three points but in truth Chelsea should have added gloss to the scoreline in the second half.

Portuguese right-back Bosingwa broke the deadlock on 33 minutes when a rasping drive from the edge of the area shocked Scott Carson in the West Brom goal, who could only prod the ball on to the bar and watch it bounce behind the line.

Within minutes a double salvo from in-form Frenchman Anelka had killed the game as a contest.

For Anelka's first West Brom defender Abdoulaye Meite got into trouble on the right-hand side of his defence, affording the Chelsea striker a clear run in the left-hand channel and the opportunity to drink the ball over Carson with a deft touch.

Anelka made it 3-0 just before the half-time whistle when he waited to played in by Salomon Kalou and prodded the ball into the unguarded net, scoring his 12th league goal of the season in the process.

West Brom were being comprehensively beaten but the scoreline belied the solid chances they had eked out in the first 45; Roman Bednar and Ishmael Miller both guilty of profligacy in front of goal, protection of which fell to Carlo Cudicini owing to Petr Cech's groin injury.

After the restart Chelsea had several opportunities to add to their goal haul, Anelka in particular.

Twice the 29-year-old threatened Carson's goal but was foiled by desperate defending.

Tony Mowbray's team struggled to impose themselves on the match in the second-half, with substitutes Filipe Teixeira and Kim Do-Heon coming closest with a long-range drive and angled shot respectively.

The win puts Chelsea level on points with Liverpool at the summit of the Premier League, with the Blues top by virtue of their superior goal difference.

West Brom remain rooted to the bottom of the table with 11 points from 13 games.