EPL: Chelsea's Pedro packs a punch on debut against West Brom

Chelsea forward Rodriguez scores in maiden EPL match & sets up Diego Costa for the second goal as reigning champions beat West Brom 3-2

West Bromwich: Pedro Rodriguez declared himself “very happy” after scoring one goal and making another on his debut to help Chelsea to a 3-2 win at West Bromwich Albion.

Chelsea’s Pedro Rodriguez (second from right) gets past a couple of West Bromwich Albion defenders before scoring the opening goal during their English Premier League match at the Hawthorns in West Bromwich, England yesterday. Pic/AFP

Having arrived from Barcelona earlier this week in a deal thought to be worth £21.2 million ($33.2 million), Pedro was thrust straight into action by manager Jose Mourinho on Chelsea’s right flank. He opened his account with a deflected shot in the 10th minute following a one-two with Eden Hazard before teeing up Diego Costa and despite the second-half dismissal of John Terry for a professional foul, the visitors held out for their first win of the Premier League season.

I enjoyed my debut: Pedro
“I enjoyed my debut a lot with this team. I’m very happy for the victory,” Pedro told Sky Sports. Asked if it had been important to score, he replied: “It’s important for me, for my integration in the team. I’m very happy.”

James Morrison, who had earlier seen a penalty saved by Thibaut Courtois, brought West Brom back into the game, but Chelsea prevailed thanks to a 42nd-minute goal from Cesar Azpilicueta despite Terry’s dismissal and Morrison finding the net again in the second half. Cesc Fabregas, who plays alongside Pedro for Spain and was a former teammate of his at Barcelona, said he was not surprised to see the 28-year-old make such a speedy impact.

Fabregas said: “I knew straight away he would make an impact. The pacy player goes behind defenders, can dribble one against one.”

Everton 0-2 Manchester City
Meanwhile, Aleksandar Kolarov and Samir Nasri earned Manchester City a 2-0 win at Everton yesterday that sent them top of the EPL. City took the lead on the hour. Raheem Sterling glided into the Everton box from the left and passed to the overlapping Kolarov, who beat Tim Howard at the near-post. Nasri sealed victory (88th min) by playing a one-two with Yaya Toure and neatly lobbing Howard.

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