Fabregas sent off as Albion beat Chelsea

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West Bromwich Albion 3 Chelsea 0

Cesc Fabregas was sent off as champions Chelsea slipped to just their third Premier League defeat of the season.

Saido Berahino’s first-half shot put West Brom ahead and, after Fabregas was dismissed for kicking the ball at Chris Brunt from 30 yards on the half-hour mark, Berahino’s penalty made it 2-0 moments after the interval.

Chelsea continued to dominate possession and created several decent chances, the best of which saw Loic Remy hit the post with a fine low strike.

But Brunt’s fierce effort made it 3-0 and the Blues failed to score for just the third league game this season.

The game’s crucial moment came when Fabregas was dismissed for kicking the ball at Brunt following a melee that saw the fit-again Diego Costa harshly booked for an off-the-ball tussle with Gareth McAuley.

It was a ridiculous way for the Spanish midfielder’s season to end, but probably the right call for a rash reaction to a needless flash point.

By that stage the Chelsea were already trailing to a superb curling strike by Berahino.

But the 10-man Blues still dominated for the rest of the half and went close through an Eden Hazard shot, a fierce Filipe Luis free-kick and a deflected Remy shot that went narrowly wide.

Jose Mourinho’s side managed to maintain their shape despite being a man down, with Hazard in dominant form in a free role and Ruben Loftus-Cheek once again impressing in central midfield.

However, within 30 seconds of the restart, the Baggies had won a penalty when John Terry lunged in on Berahino, who then just about beat Thibaut Courtois from the spot.

Remy was unfortunate not to score with a brilliant effort that came crashing back off the post.

But the visitors switched off from a short corner, allowing Brunt to fire in a blistering near-post strike to complete the scoring.

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Filipe Luis; Matic, Loftus-Cheek (Ake 73); Remy (Brown 79), Fabregas, Hazard; Costa (Cuadrado 64).
Subs not used: Blackman, Christenesen, Azpilicueta, Mikel.

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