West Brom 2 Chelsea 3: Pedro makes scoring debut

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho refused to blame John Terry after his dismissal against West Brom yesterday – but believes appealing the red card could be a waste of time.

Referee Mark Clattenburg shows Chelsea skipper John Terry the red card. Picture: Getty

The defender was sent off early in the second half for pulling back Salomon Rondon to continue his difficult start to the season.

Chelsea hung on for a 3-2 win at The Hawthorns to record their first Barclays Premier League victory of the season after Pedro’s debut goal set them on course for the win.

Terry retained his place after being substituted during last week’s 3-0 defeat at Manchester City and Mourinho feels appealing the sending-off would not be worth it.

He said: “Normally it’s a waste of time for us, I think we should but normally it’s a waste of time. [Nemanja] Matic against Burnley last year was a waste of time, Diego Costa against Liverpool was a waste of time.

“No [I don’t blame him], it’s a ball into the space behind the full-back, the fullback is pressing high, the striker makes the movement and then [referee] Mr Clattenburg decides it’s a red card.

“To speak about the sending-off I have to speak about many other things in the game. Some things you can see and some things we can see.

“I prefer just to focus on us. Tomorrow the back pages have to be different because we won.”

Mourinho admitted, after a second red card of the season, that his team must train to cope with it.

He added: “To train 10 v 11 is something we have to do and I’m not joking. We have to know what to do.”

Pedro’s goal, his first since arriving at Stamford Bridge from Barcelona in a £21 million deal last week, set Chelsea up for a hard-fought victory as the hosts pushed them all the way following Terry’s red card.

Diego Costa and Cesar Azpilicueta also netted in the first half after Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois saved James Morrison’s early penalty, before the Scotland midfielder scored twice.

Pedro impressed before being substituted late on and Mourinho believes he proved he can cut it in the Premier League.

He said: “He’s a very good player, there is always a question mark because how many top players come to England and don’t perform immediately. People ask if he is the right player, can he adapt? We have examples in our club and there are lots of examples in other clubs, it’s very nice for him to perform the way he did.”

The Baggies are still searching for their first win of the season after defeats to the champions and Manchester City.

Boss Tony Pulis dropped Saido Berahino from the squad after Albion rejected a bid from Tottenham for the striker last week and Pulis decided the England Under-21 international was not in the right frame of mind to play after the speculation.

He said: “Why are we talking about Saido today? We’re talking about Saido because of the transfer window. Everybody here today should be talking about the game and this wouldn’t be an issue. It can be disruptive and has been.

“He is fine, there’s no problems but it’s the transfer window which causes the problems. He needs to be protected, there’s loads of stuff going on in his mind, not just one club but 15 clubs. No-one should have this problem.”

West Brom: Myhill, Dawson, McAuley, Olsson, Brunt, Yacob, McManaman (Gnabry 78), Morrison (Gardner 88), Fletcher, McClean (Lambert 60), Rondon.Subs Not Used: Chester, Lescott, Anichebe, Rose.

Chelsea: Courtois, Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry, Azpilicueta, Fabregas, Matic, Pedro (Mikel 84), Willian (Cahill 56), Hazard, Costa (Falcao 78). Subs Not Used: Begovic, Traore, Remy, Loftus-Cheek.