English FA Premiership/West Brom 1 Chelsea 2: It is not essential that champions should be liked, but if ever they are to be loved, or at the very least admired, it is necessary for them to capture the imagination of the uncommitted.
Should Chelsea turn around their Champions League tie against Barcelona in the Camp Nou tomorrow then they may edge a little closer to being regarded as something more than the distillation of Jose Mourinho's particular footballing pragmatism. For the moment they are widely and understandably regarded, outside Stamford Bridge, as being profoundly dull.
Bryan Robson, who gave the impression for much of this match that if he had stumbled across the Chelsea manager drowning in a lake he would have thrown him not a lifebelt but a sack of concrete lumps, said afterwards: "Jose is a very good coach and they grind out results."
Clearly there is a little more to their domination of the Premiership than that, several million pounds more. However it is a disquieting thought that a team that has been so dominant domestically may fail to get beyond the last 16 of Europe's elite, and one that makes all talk of the Premiership being the best league in Europe seem preposterous.
Joe Cole, who after his fine performance for England came off the bench against West Brom to score his ninth Chelsea goal of the season, believes they can rise to the occasion against the Spaniards but that "it will have to be our best performance of the season, and a lot better than today". That will not be difficult, although it is to be hoped that Didier Drogba's second-half B-movie theatricals, after Jonathan Greening's challenge, were not a portent of what is to come tomorrow.
There was much that was unsavoury in this match, and the referee Mark Halsey stood up well to the mass haranguing whenever he was faced with an awkward decision. For the most part he called it right, which is more than could be said for Robson afterwards. He felt Drogba dived (correct), that Arjen Robben's was sending off was "a little bit harsh" (wrong), and that Kevin Campbell, with Chelsea leading 1-0, was fouled in the penalty area (wrong). Campbell simply ran into a defender and fell over while Robben's wild two-footed challenge could not be tolerated.
The fact that the Chelsea players were late out for the start of the second half, and that a so-called "group decision" stifled any post-match comments by Mourinho, were tiresome and inexcusable, although it is the continuing gamesmanship on the field throughout the Premiership that is the real cancer in the game.
"If someone is not hurt, I'd like to see him get up and get on with it," said Albion's Steve Watson, referring to the Drogba incident.
"The way Drogba went down, you've got to assume he was hurt. Then, to get up five minutes later and not even be limping, it's very disappointing," added Watson.
West Bromwich are away to Birmingham next Saturday, a match of critical importance with a three-point gap and given the toughness of Albion's run-in.
Asked if Mourinho had wound him up, Robson smiled: "My team wind me up."
Chelsea may rarely soar to great heights, but they prey on weaknesses unmercifully. Albion lost possession in midfield to help set up Drogba's opening goal, and then overplayed the ball in defence before Cole struck.
"This game was similar to the one at Blackburn last season," said Cole. "Not as nasty but just as important in terms of the title."
Nwankwo Kanu's belated appearance underlined just how much his class had previously been missed. He had already guided a header just wide before expertly converting Paul Robinson's swift, low cross. The simplicity and ease of his 88th minute strike emphasised the stark reality that Albion's previous goal efforts had been typical of a team at the bottom end of the Premiership. It was also an unnerving reminder for Chelsea that they will face such quality in abundance inside the Camp Nou.
