Tony Pulis. This game was the perfect example of what Tony Pulis can do. Taking on a team who are in red-hot form away from home and frustrating them is not something many teams can do.
But then again, Antonio Conte's Chelsea are just not giving up. They are doing anything and everything possible to get a result and it's working for them each and every time now.
When nothing was working, Conte brought on Willian and Fabregas and the duo did not let their manager down. Here are the 5 talking points from Chelsea's hard-fought 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion:
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#1 Chelsea are being found out
Chelsea fairytale run is finally coming to an end. They went on a good run of clean sheets but Tottenham broke that. They were still on a good run of controlling the games, Manchester City broke that. And today, West Brom have done well to frustrate Antonio Conte's men.
When Conte started using the 3-4-3 formation, nobody knew how to cope with the movement. 8 games since, Chelsea have picked up all 24 points. But now, it doesn't look like it will run like that any longer.
Teams are starting to understand the tactics and are doing enough homework to get the result against The Blues. Costa's goal just broke them and that's actually a bit harsh looking at the way they played throughout the game.
#2 West Brom play the 'Chelsea way'
Chelsea have been playing some tremendous football this season but if you look back a year from today, they were parking the bus and trying to grind out results.
Jose Mourinho was not able to do anything right and was doing nothing but frustrate the opponents. Tony Pulis took a leaf off Jose's books and made his team play the same way today.
Unfortunately for him, his team made that one bad error and Diego Costa punished them. The defenders managed to keep the Spaniard and Hazard quiet throughout the game while Pedro was not even allowed to get close to the ball today.
#3 Diego Costa has changed for the good
One issue that Diego Costa had when he arrived in the Premier League was his behaviour and attitude. He was diving, fighting and committing fouls here and there.
Last season, he was going down when an opponent had a slight contact with him and trying to get them booked. He was trying to get free kicks and penalties in situations where he could have scored several goals.
This season, he's changed a lot. He could have gone down and appealed for a penalty when Dawson dived in from behind but he kept his balance and scored a beauty to hand Chelsea the lead. That goal changed the game and has put them back in a comfortable position in the table - 3 points clear of 2nd placed Arsenal.
#4 Tony Pulis is under appreciated
The man knows how to train his players and grind out results. West Brom did not manage walk away with a point from Stamford Bridge today but they were top class throughout the match.
They made just one mistake in the entire game and Diego Costa punished them. This man knows how to change the game and how to outplay the opponents.
He is criticised for his ‘heavy’ style of football. Nobody in the Premier League likes the idea of a team defending more and using being technical winning. But what people don't see is how much of preparation and planning this takes and the effort put in by the players to execute it.
#5 Cesc Fabregas is proving his worth
Fabregas has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge in January. The Spanish International is not getting to start for Chelsea regularly and is said to be frustrated at it.
The former Barcelona man made a rare start last week when Matic was ruled out injured and then came on this week as a substitute when Chelsea needed a goal. In both matches, he played some brilliant passes and was responsible for the goal that Costa scored today.
Conte needs to convince the Spaniard to stay at Chelsea and make sure he uses him as much as possible. Fabregas is nowhere close to what he was when he arrived at Chelsea but the midfielder still has a lot left in him and can be one of the most important players at the club for at least another 2-3 years.
