BBC SPORT | Football | Eng Prem | Chelsea cruise past Baggies

Chelsea 2-0 West Brom

Chelsea moved up to third in the Premiership table with a comfortable victory over West Brom.

In a poor game in front of a capacity crowd at Stamford Bridge, the Blues scored either side of half-time to settle matters.

We're in the bottom three - which is where people expected us to be - but there will be no mass panic

Baggies' boss Gary Megson

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink grabbed the first in the 30th minute and Graeme Le Saux added a rare goal 10 minutes into the second half.

Gary Megson's West Brom side were well organised as always but although they rattled the crossbar of Carlo Cudicini's goal, they were seldom impressive offensively.

The stark facts are that this was their seventh Premiership defeat of the season and the performance was seldom encouraging, given that Chelsea rarely showed their best form.

The only noteworthy piece of action in the first half was Hasselbaink's goal.

He scored for the fourth time this season after taking Emmanuel Petit's flicked pass - his shot deflecting off Russell Hoult's leg and the post.

In truth, the Dutchman could have opened the scoring just two minutes earlier when he took a delightful pass from Gianfranco Zola to advance on the West Brom goal unmarked.

Match facts

30 mins: Hasselbaink scores the opener

54: Le Saux grabs the second

The second goal, when it came in the 54th minute, was beautifully worked, although the strike itself owed a little to good fortune.

Frank Lampard, one of Chelsea's most impressive performers, brought the ball out of midfield before playing a ball over the top for the breaking Hasselbaink.

From the left wing the Dutchman moved goalwards, taking the ball onto his right foot before striking a typically ferocious shot which cannoned off Sean Gregan on the line.

Gianfranco Zola and Neil Clement battle it out

The rebound arrived at the feet of Le Saux, 10 yards out, and the former England defender made no mistake, smashing the ball past Hoult.

The only worry for Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri was a four-minute period during the middle of the second half which saw his team completely lose their concentration.

Former Blues defender Neil Clement's cross picked out Andy Johnson, whose header smacked into the far post and luckily rebounded straight into Cudicini's grasp.

The match was better for us after we scored a goal

Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri

Then Clement, who left Stamford Bridge two years ago, stormed forward from left-back and thundered a 25-yard effort against the crossbar.

And then Cudicini pulled off a remarkable parry to deny substitute Lee Hughes' six-yard effort from Igor Balis' cross.

The game petered out from there, but in truth it had never got going.

Watch a round-up of the weekend's action

Chelsea: Cudicini, Melchiot, Gallas, Desailly, Le Saux, Gronkjaer (Terry 80), Petit (Morris 73), Lampard, De Lucas, Zola, Hasselbaink.
Subs Not Used: Pidgeley, Gudjohnsen, Oliveira.

West Brom: Hoult, Gregan (Sigurdsson 67), Moore, Gilchrist, Balis, Clement, Johnson, Marshall (Hughes 58), McInnes, Dobie, Roberts.
Subs Not Used: Murphy, Wallwork, Koumas.

Booked: Johnson.

Attendance: 40,893

Referee: S Dunn (Avon).


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