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West Bromwich Albion fans must have given up believing in fairytales after this frustrating home defeat.

Baggies came into the game against Claudio Ranieri's Champions League chasing side knowing only a win would do if they were to kick-start a survival push.

But Gary Megson's side rarely looked like scoring a goal, let alone forcing a win or, even less likely, stringing together the kind of end-of-season run that could haul them away from trouble.

In fact, the only connection you could make between this display and fairytales is to say it was grim.

Mario Stanic won it for Chelsea with the kind of set-piece goal that West Brom must have hoped they could force at the other end.

Stanic rose above Neil Clement to head home from close range following Graeme Le Saux's corner.

And that was that.

HAWTHORNS MATCH FACTS 15 mins: Moore and McInnes off with injury for West Brom 38 mins: Stanic heads home Chelsea opener 55 mins: Zola fires home a second

It was never going to be West Brom's day.

Jason Robert's snapshot which flew narrowly wide after only 45 seconds was as close as they came to scoring throughout the 90 minutes and Megson's game plan was thrown into utter confusion by an early double injury setback.

With Phil Gilchrist already missing through injury, the last thing West Brom needed was to lose Darren Moore their pivotal giant of a central defender.

Moore twisted his knee in an innocent early challenge with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and, while he was being stretchered off, captain Derek McInnes was hobbling in the same direction, the victim of a thigh strain.

Ronnie Wallwork and James Chambers were thrown on in an early reshuffle and Baggies were already on the back foot.

Russell Hoult delayed the seemingly inevitable with an outstanding one-handed parry to deny Hasselbaink midway through the first half, but Chelsea had to wait until seven minutes before half-time for their breakthrough.

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Stanic, included largely for his defensive qualities, provided that breakthrough with a clinical header. And the patter continued in the second period.

Again Hoult performed minor heroics to keep out Hasselbaink's shot with his legs, but the killer second goal quickly followed.

Ranieri's decision to bring on Jesper Gronkjaer for Eidur Gudjonsson, rather than the largely ineffective Gianfranco Zola, prompted a rueful shake of the head from the Icelandic striker.

But Ranieri's decision was vindicated within a minute as Zola exchanged a neat one-two with Hasselbaink and cracked home a clinical right-foot finish.

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For a West Brom side which has failed to score three goals in a Premiership game all season, there was no way back.

Jason Koumas saw a deflected shot tipped away by Carlo Cudicini but the late flurry was hardly of cavalry charge proportions.

Chelsea's clinical dispatchment of a doomed side elevated them back into fourth place in the Premiership and to within sniffing distance of a Champions League place.

For West Brom, eight points adrift of safety with only eight games remaining, the whiff in the air is of something entirely different.

West Brom: Hoult, Clement, Moore, Sigurdsson, Balis, Udeze, McInnes, Gregan, Koumas, Roberts, Hughes. Subs: Murphy, Wallwork, Dichio, Dobie, James Chambers.

Chelsea: Cudicini, Gallas, Melchiot, Terry, Stanic, Le Saux, Lampard, Morris, Zola, Hasselbaink, Gudjohnsen. Subs: de Goey, Desailly, De Lucas, Gronkjaer, Cole.