Chelsea striker Drogba looked fit, sharp and dangerous as he struck a hat-trick

By Paul Fletcher

Didier Drogba notched a hat-trick as Chelsea signalled their intent to defend their Premier League title by thrashing newly-promoted West Brom.

Florent Malouda struck early on from six yards before Drogba scored with a free-kick on the stroke of half-time.

Drogba later pounced after a goal-line clearance and scored with a deflected strike from the edge of the area.

Frank Lampard finished an attractive move, while Malouda struck from close range on the stroke of full-time.

Chelsea, who ended last season with an 8-0 thrashing of Wigan, have now won the opening day for the last nine seasons.

And they move instantly to the top of the table after the biggest opening day victory in the history of the Premier League.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti saw his champions play with a confidence, skill and composure that seemingly enabled them to slice open their opponents at will.

It was a chastening afternoon for West Brom and their manager Roberto di Matteo, a former Chelsea player who received a generous reception from the Stamford Bridge crowd.

His team enjoyed phases of play during which the Baggies displayed the sort of smooth passing football that helped them to win promotion from the Championship.

And Di Matteo can take solace in the fact that they will not play such a talented side as Chelsea every week, but the hammering nonetheless provided an instant illustration of the sort of quality that his team will encounter in the top flight.

Indeed, it was a far from complete performance by Chelsea, who at times seemed to be going through the motions before suddenly raising the tempo.

If the home side needed an early goal to dust off the cobwebs of their sluggish pre-season form then it arrived when Malouda scored after just six minutes - but only after some shoddy goalkeeping from Scott Carson.

At the very least, the West Brom keeper should have diverted a Drogba free-kick away from goal but he spilled the ball into his six-yard box and, after he partially atoned for his error by smothering an effort from Jon Mikel Obi, France international Malouda had a simple tap-in.

The Baggies seemed content to pack the midfield and leave Roman Bednar as the lone - and frequently isolated - striker, while Chelsea illuminated the contest at a sodden Stamford Bridge with some delightful passing.

Ashley Cole looked more like a left winger than a left-back, while Lampard pulled off one particularly audacious backheel that would have played Malouda through had he been more alert.

Malouda should later have scored Chelsea's second but headed over after Carson had acted sharply to palm clear a vicious Lampard free-kick.

Carson had been unhappy with his wall - and he must have been infuriated with it in first-half stoppage time when Chris Brunt and Gabriel Tamas allowed Drogba's free-kick to fly between them, with the Ivorian's long-range strike finding the net after bouncing yards in front of the keeper.

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Drogba's strike took the match beyond West Brom, who had played some decent passing football after conceding an early goal.

Di Matteo's team often let themselves down with some poor decision making and execution in the final third but their approach play was at times crisp and precise.

A low strike from the influential Graham Dorrans took a slight deflection off John Terry and forced a sharp save off Petr Cech, who returned to the Chelsea side after recovering from a calf injury.

And Bednar had the ball in the net with a 20-yard strike but his effort was ruled out for offside.

West Brom continued to catch the eye with some attractive football in the second half but within 10 minutes of the restart Chelsea had extinguished any faint hope of a Baggies comeback.

Chelsea looked threatening at set pieces and it was from a corner that Ancelotti's team scored their third.

Youssuf Mulumbu made a goal-line clearance after Terry had headed goalwards but the midfielder could not prevent Drogba from smashing home from six yards with a left-foot strike.

Nicolas Anelka and Cole combined to play in Lampard, who struck the fourth from 12 yards.

Drogba completed his hat-trick after 68 minutes, with his strike from a wide angle taking a sizeable deflection off the unlucky Tamas.

It seemed inevitable that Chelsea would score again, but the sell-out crowd had to wait until the final minute for Malouda to collect a pass from Anelka before eluding Carson and shooting into the net off the post.

West Brom might have scored a consolation but Alex managed to deflect a strike from Chris Brunt over his crossbar, while substitute Simon Cox shot wide.

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