This season's new signings Xiao Yu, Toni Kroos, Benayoun and Van Dijk are all on the bench.
West Bromwich Albion's starting formation is 4-5-1.
Goalkeeper No. 1 Carson,
The four defenders are No. 36 Yara, No. 30 Tamas, No. 6 Pablo, and No. 4 Marek Cech.
The five midfielders are No. 14 Thomas, No. 21 Mlumbu, No. 11 Brent, No. 7 Morrison and No. 17 Dorrance.
Single forward No. 9 Bednar.
The referee Clattenberg blew the whistle to start the game, and Chelsea launched an attack directly...
In the first 4 minutes, Anelka got the ball 25 meters away from the goal from the right side of the penalty area. He did not hesitate to try a long shot, but the shot was firmly held in Carson's arms.
At this moment, the weather on the field suddenly changed, and it rained heavily, as if the sky opened the floodgates and wanted to pour all the rain onto the football field.
The sudden arrival of rain undoubtedly caused a lot of trouble for the players on both sides.
The slippery ground makes it difficult for players to move, and the erosion of rain makes the trajectory of the ball unpredictable.
However, it was in this environment that Chelsea's home playing ability began to show.
When Malouda broke through in the middle, he encountered the opponent's tight defense. He cleverly used his foot skills to successfully create a free kick.
Drogba hit the goal without hesitation. He used all his strength to send the football towards the blind corner of the goal.
Carson made a save, but after the football passed through the wall, although he hugged the football, he was still unable to completely restrain the football from flying out.
Mikel immediately followed up with a follow-up shot, but this follow-up shot was miraculously blocked by Carson again.
When the football was blocked, it fell to the goal again, and Malouda seized the opportunity and easily scored an empty goal.
Chelsea 1:0 West Bromwich Albion
The goal sent Chelsea fans cheering wildly and Malouda pumping his fists in excitement.
In the next game, Malouda once again showed his personal ability.
His clever backheel play outside the penalty area created a long-range shot opportunity for Lampard.
Lampard took a long shot from outside the penalty area, but unfortunately the football flew directly into the stands.
In the 8th minute, Ashley Cole sent a diagonal pass from the left, aiming directly at the goal.
This pass was extremely accurate and fast. It passed directly through the opponent's defense line and was about to become a dangerous attack.
However, at the last moment, West Bromwich Albion's defensive players reacted quickly and barely blocked the threatening ball out of the dangerous area.
Just a few minutes later, West Bromwich Albion got a chance to advance quickly on the left side of the frontcourt.
Brent tried a long shot 25 meters away from the goal. The ball bounced in front of the goal. Cech reacted quickly and fell to the ground to block the threatening ball.
The Chelsea goalkeeper's performance had the crowd roaring with cheers.
In the 23rd minute, Drogba sent a pass outside the penalty area. After Lampard skillfully unloaded the football, he turned and volleyed.
However, this volley was blocked by the defensive player in time.
Subsequently, Malouda got a chance to shoot low near the small penalty area. His shot angle was so good that the football almost slid past the goalpost.
In the 34th minute, Chelsea got a corner kick opportunity from the right.
The football was accurately passed to the front point, but Drogba failed to win this key football.
The West Bromwich Albion defender cleared the ball before the opponent and defused the attack.
In the 37th minute, Chelsea's midfield core "Magic Lamp" Lampard launched a fatal through ball in front of the penalty area, aiming directly at Malouda.
Malouda quickly entered the penalty area and started a fierce confrontation with the defender.
In the end, Malouda successfully broke through the defense near the penalty area and scored.
However, the referee blew the whistle at a critical moment and determined that Malouda was offside when he got the ball, and the goal was invalid.
Just a minute later, Chelsea launched a wave of exquisite cooperation in the frontcourt.
Midfielder Essien passed the ball accurately to Lampard.
After receiving the ball, Lampard deliberately used his backheel to pass the ball to Malouda.
Malouda happened to appear in an open position in front of the penalty area. However, perhaps due to lack of preparation, Malouda was unable to complete the shot and missed this excellent shooting opportunity.
In the 40th minute, Drogba was knocked down by an opponent's player in front of the penalty area, winning a free kick for Chelsea.
Lampard took the free kick and chose to hit the goal directly. However, the ball was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper Carson.
At this time, Malouda quickly appeared in the penalty area, received Lampard's pass, and headed the goal.
Unfortunately, the ball went slightly over the crossbar and failed to score.
In the 45th minute, Chelsea expanded their lead again.
Drogba stood not far from the goal and took the free kick. He hit the goal directly. The ball passed through the middle of the four-man wall of West Bromwich Albion. Carson did not expect this at all. Unable to react in time, he could only watch the ball fly into the net.
This goal extended Chelsea's lead to 2:0.
The first half ended with defending champion Chelsea temporarily leading newly promoted West Bromwich Albion 2-0 with goals from Malouda and Drogba.
Although West Bromwich Albion were at a disadvantage in this game, their performance is also worthy of praise.
They always maintained fighting spirit and patience during the game, looking for opportunities to counterattack, showing the resilience and fighting spirit of the newly promoted team.
Although they were two goals behind, they did not give up the game and continued to fight hard, hoping to find an opportunity to equalize the score.
There is no longer any suspense about the outcome of this game, but the fighting spirit of the players on both sides and the intensity of the game are still worth looking forward to.
Can Chelsea maintain their lead in the second half and turn it into victory?
Can West Bromwich Albion find a chance to equalize the score?
In the second half, the two sides changed places to fight again.
In the 51st minute, Chelsea launched a wonderful offensive, starting from the right, and after several smooth passes, Malouda finally shot from 26 meters away from the goal.
However, despite the power of his shot, the football still missed the goal, much to the regret of the fans on the sidelines.
Just one minute later, Paulo Ferreira made a mistake with the ball in the backcourt and gave Brent a great opportunity in the frontcourt.
After Brent received the ball, he volleyed vigorously about 25 meters away from the goal. The football flew straight towards the goal like a shooting star.
However, fate did not seem to be on West Bromwich Albion's side. The football hit the heel of his teammate Bednar, missed the post and flew out of the bottom line, leaving Brent can only watch the ball and sigh.
