Chelsea inflicted the heaviest defeat of any opening day in the Premiership as they swept aside newly promoted West Brom, 6-0. The defending champions could not have asked for a more emphatic statement of intent.
It was a horrible day for Scott Carson who looked like Lukasz Fabianski with hands of butter and constantly caught out of position. His defense did not help with the wall crumbling in the wake of Drogba’s free kick and Gabriel Tamas’s head helping deflect Drogbas shot past his hands into the net.
Leading the way was Didier Drogba, the new and improved version since his groin surgery. He scored a hat trick and if this is the way he and Chelsea continue then this season may well be over in a short while. He was matched in his cool and clinical finishing by Florent Malouda who scored a brace. Frank Lampard rounded off the tally.
For Roberto Di Matteo, a former Chelsea man himself the saving grace is that he does not have to go to Stamford Bridge every weekend. The Baggies were pretty good when they had the ball and for long spells controlled the game, but when it comes to ruthless scoring efficiency, there is no one better than Chelsea.