If you thought Chelsea vs West Brom in the early kick-off after an international break would be dull, you were very much mistaken.

The first 45 minutes at Stamford Bridge had everything.

Chelsea went ahead through Christian Pulisic and it looked as though it could be a routine victory.

However, minutes later, Thiago Silva was shown a red card for a second yellow card.

That didn't appear to change the tide of the game until first half injury-time when Matheus Pereira's brace but Sam Allardyce's side ahead at the break.

In amongst all of that, Branislav Ivanovic enjoyed a 10 minute return to Stamford Bridge.

The former Chelsea defender came off the bench in the 24th-minute for Dara O'Shea. The Serb didn't have too much time to warm-up before he was introduced.

And that was costly as, shortly after stepping onto the pitch, he was involved in a foot race with Timo Werner.

While Ivanovic dealt with Werner admirably, it resulted in a hamstring injury for the 37-year-old and he was back down the tunnel just 13 minutes after coming on.

It's a real shame for a player who served Chelsea with such distinction for many years.

Whether West Brom can use their one-man and one-goal advantage to pick up all three points in the second half remains to be seen.

If they do, they will move to within seven points of Newcastle in 17th as they attempt to complete a miraculous escape.

If anyone can, Big Sam can.