18th May, 2015
West Bromwich Albion pulled off one of the surprise results of season after they beat English champions, Chelsea 3-0 at the Hawthorns on Monday night.
The Baggies got off to a flyer after Saido Berahino’s curling effort in the ninth minute put his side in front. His side got a much needed boost after Cesc Fabregas was sent off for the Blues.
The Spaniard was shown a red card for kicking the ball into Chris Brunt’s head after Diego Costa and Gareth McAuley clashed.
Berahino then added to his side’s advantage after Chelsea captain, John Terry brought him down in the box. From the spot, he put the ball beyond Thibaut Courtois in goal.
And Brunt wrapped up the win when he beat Thibaut Courtois at his near post from a slick corner routine.
Jose Mourinho restored Costa to his starting XI with the Brazilian-born striker making his first appearance since April 4.
But the visitors were never able to get going against Tony Pulis’ side.
The Blues had already been given a warning from Callum McManaman when Berahino opened the scoring.
Joleon Lescott fed the England Under-21 international who shot on the turn into the top corner from 20 yards for his 19th goal of the season.
The match heated up after 30 minutes as Costa and McAuley clashed in the penalty area.
The two scuffled in the Baggies’ penalty area and as referee Mike Jones looked to calm the players down, Fabregas kicked the ball into the crowd from 20 yards, striking Brunt on the back of the head.
It was not until the closing stages of the half that Chelsea seriously tested Boaz Myhill, Filipe Luis firing in a free-kick which was punched away.
Any hope of a Chelsea response was quashed seconds after the interval when Terry cleared out Berahino and the 21-year-old dusted himself down to score from 12 yards, although Courtois got a hand to the shot.
And the Belgian should have done better to stop Brunt’s effort on the hour-mark moments after Loic Remy had hit the post.
Myhill ensured the hosts kept their clean sheet in tact with a brilliant point-blank save from Nemanja Martic with 15 minutes remaining.