#2 Sturdy West Brom frustrate Chelsea with defensive setup
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Tony Pulis’ teams are renowned for their discipline at the back and against Chelsea on Friday, it was no different. On a mission to wrap up the Premier League title, Antonio Conte cut a frustrated figure in the technical area as the Baggies fielded a back six – with wingers James McClean and Chris Brunt’s heat maps dominating the defensive third, either side of the nominated back four.
The set-up meant that it was difficult for Eden Hazard and Pedro to dance their way into the penalty area and Cesc Fabregas was not able to churn out space to thread a pass through the middle. Diego Costa was well marshalled by Gareth McAuley and was given no room to get a shot away.
Chelsea’s quality was such that the likes of Fabregas and Pedro managed to get shots away, but they were narrowly off target. It was a performance typical of a Tony Pulis team and it was only in the last ten minutes when Chelsea were finally able to get the better of Ben Foster in goal.
