Pedro, £21million from Barcelona just four days ago, was the difference today as Chelsea saw off hard-fighting West Brom. The difference between victory and, most likely, defeat.
The difference between space to breathe and another week of recrimination and inquest. There will be enough of that already, as a result of John Terry’s sending-off, and another unconvincing defensive display from a team who as good as put a padlock on the Premier League trophy in the final months of last season.
Yet if Chelsea have now turned a corner with their first win of the season, Pedro was the catalyst for it. There are some new signings who require time to adjust, others who hit the ground running. It is fair to say Pedro falls into the second category.
Within 30 minutes here, he had scored his first Premier League goal and claimed his first Premier League assist. Chelsea’s delirium at having such a talent on the books was matched only by their delight in Manchester United being shown to have missed out so soon. ‘Are you watching?’ they asked Louis van Gaal and the Old Trafford recruitment team.
If they were, it would have been through their fingers. Having drawn a blank against Newcastle on Saturday, the last thing they would have wanted is such a prompt reminder of the quality they claim to have turned down.
If Van Gaal’s version of events is genuine, and Chelsea only got the player after United lost interest, one has to wonder why. Pedro is exactly the type of player United need. Hell, he is the type of player any team needs – particularly one stumbling into the season like Chelsea.
Pedro, West Bromwich Albion – this was a perfect storm for champions looking for their first win of the season, so it was perhaps appropriate that rain teemed down throughout. Not that the quirks of an English summer bothered Pedro. He skated across the slippery surface, lightning quick for the first goal, crucial to a quite stunning counter-attacking move for the second. At times, this was Chelsea as remembered from last season. Hard to contain and Cobra-like in their attacking swiftness.
At others, they looked mystifyingly vulnerable. Terry saw red, while West Brom scored twice and missed a penalty. Chelsea saw the game out with ten men, and credit for that, but there was never a time when they looked truly comfortable – and this was a team that has previously looked better equipped for a 1-0 win than just about any in Europe.
No wonder Pedro felt at home, though. There were three different Chelsea scorers in the first-half, and all were Spanish internationals. Pedro, Diego Costa and Cesar Azpilicueta made sure Chelsea got their win, although Jose Mourinho will equally know his players got lucky at times. At the end of the game, he appeared to shout something into the touchline microphone, whether defiance, elation or that well-honed sense of justice only the Sky sound engineers know.
Still, in many ways, it was a fitting introduction to the strangely unhinged world of English football for Pedro. The lousy weather, the ferocious pace, the rash tackling and the openness of the play were a perfect miniature of what to expect in the coming months. He also now knows he will get chances with his new club – but he’ll have to run doubly hard to take them.