Chelsea recorded a tenth straight Premier League away win to remain on top of the pile thanks to more goals from Nicolas Anelka and a special effort from José Bosingwa.

Three goals before half-time deflated a West Brom side that had pushed Chelsea hard in the first half-hour, as Bosingwa curled in from distance before Anelka slotted home twice to take his tally to 13 for the season.

It meant we could drop the pace in the second half with the win secured, allowing a stress-free run out for Michael Ballack who returned after a month on the sidelines, and Didier Drogba.

For the fourth weekend in succession, Chelsea took to the field with rain pouring from the sky. Fortunately it was not so bad as to have puddles underfoot as there were at Blackburn, and the Hawthorns pitch was sufficiently greased to encourage the type of passing football favoured by both sides.

In a change strip of all yellow, there were two changes for the Blues from Ewood Park with Carlo Cudicini and Branislav Ivanovic stepping in for Petr Cech and Alex, Luiz Felipe Scolari's latest injury victims.

West Brom started well, James Morrison cutting inside from the right and beating John Mikel Obi with some neat footwork before firing over.

Five minutes later Borja Valera made his way into a similar position, but again the shot was wayward, this time screwed wide.

At this stage the Blues hadn't yet made any inroads into the home box, in spite of some slick passing.

John Terry had called for some fighting spirit before today's game, and showed exactly what he meant when he tussled with Albion's Roman Bednar ten minutes in. Both just about remained restrained as they tangled, ensuring referee Steve Bennett needed only give them a ticking off.

Ishmael Miller came close to opening the scoring on the quarter-hour, shooting just wide from the left after more midfield trickery from Valera after Frank Lampard was dispossessed on the attack.

At the other end Salomon Kalou registered Chelsea's first effort jinking one way and another but shooting over, leaving Scott Carson untested in the Albion goal until the 22nd minute.

He was called into action to prevent Lampard opening the scoring, saving with his feet when the midfielder was expertly released by Florent Malouda, whose first-time volleyed pass picked out the run. On 30 minutes the Frenchman fired in a powerful effort of his own that Carson managed to beat away to safety.

Three minutes later and Chelsea were ahead. Nobody could quite believe it, not least Carson who was perhaps distracted by the home supporters chanting 'England's Number One' at him.

Bosingwa took control of the ball on the right flank, cut inside and unexpectedly opted to shoot with his left foot, curling the ball in off the crossbar at the near post, a special goal for the right-back to remember.

Four minutes later the lead was doubled as Anelka continued his goalscoring form with another, outpacing the Baggies defence and racing on to Malouda's header before delicately lifting the ball over Carson.

It was a pertinent reminder at how quickly things can change in football. Five minutes previously Tony Mowbray's side had looked the match of Scolari's men, and within the blink of an eye it was 2-0 and Chelsea's proverbial muscles had been flexed.

There was even time for a third before the break as Anelka made it 13 for the season, finishing smartly with his left-foot following Kalou's direct run that had taken him past a series of challenges before slipping the ball through into space.

The 3-0 scoreline was harsh on the hosts who had played some smart football and been unlucky not to receive any reward. Half-time could not come quick enough for Mowbray, his side conceding all three within the space of 12 minutes.

At the break, he introduced Korean international Do-heon Kim in place of Bednar, reverting to 4-5-1.

The immediate effect was to allow Chelsea another chance, Malouda unable to take advantage as Carson made another save.

Lampard uncharacteristically got his feet tangled when he could have either shot or passed inside the area, and from there West Brom broke quickly, the attack ending as Terry obstructed Miller and received a booking, the game's first. Shortly afterwards he would be joined by Bosingwa who caught Morrison late, forcing the former Middlesbrough man off injured.

Before that on 53 minutes Chelsea were guilty of overplaying again as Malouda set up Anelka who laid back for Deco, but he was crowded out. From the resultant corner, the diminutive Portuguese had another go, but shot too high from the edge of the box.

Another goal looked almost inevitable when Malouda provided Anelka with another chance. He feinted before shooting, and that just gave Abdoulaye Meite time to get across and block.

Sub Felipe Teixeira, on for the injured Morrison, was quickly into the action, curling just over Cudicini's crossbar, but that was as close as the league's bottom side would come in the second half, with only a Jonas Olsson header late on to rival it.

Scolari gave Ballack a return with just over 20 minutes remaining. The Germany captain, who had been absent after an operation on his feet, replaced Kalou and slotted into central midfield.

His first contribution was a pass that ended up with Lampard inside the West Brom box. Just before the England man could pull the trigger, he slipped and went chest first into the straightened leg of Olsson. Both stayed down but were quickly passed fit to continue.

Just before Didier Drogba was introduced, Malouda should have added to the goal count, but screwed his shot wide when he was well-placed. Alternatively he could have passed to Anelka, who was withdrawn with another brace to his name.

The balance of play began to shift in the final 15 minutes, and Kim should have scored for the Baggies when Paul Robinson's cross found him with plenty of space. He volleyed well wide.

Drogba's first meaningful involvement was inside the home penalty area, latching on to a through-ball and attempting to cross, but Carson caught the cross.

The next ball into the box was almost un-defendable, Deco's free-kick curled to the far post where Malouda lay in wait. His diving header should have made it 4-0, but he misjudged and sent the ball over. The winger was probably relieved to see the linesman's flag raised.

Terry was replaced by Paulo Ferreira for the final five minutes, where Drogba came close to scoring his second in four days, and West Brom forced a couple of corners before Bennett brought an end to proceedings.

It meant Liverpool's win at Bolton earlier in the day was cancelled out with three more points on the road, a statistic that equals Tottenham's record of 10 successive away wins in the top flight, achieved in 1960.

More importantly it retained top spot in the Premier League before Newcastle's visit to Stamford Bridge in a week's time.

By Andy Jones

West Brom (4-4-2): Carson; Zuiverloon, Meite (Donk 68), Olsson, Robinson; Koren, Valero, Greening (c), Morrison (Teixeira 58); Miller, Bednar (Kim h-t).

Goals

Booked

Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cudicini; Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry (C) (Ferreira 85), Bridge; Mikel; Kalou (Ballack 67), Deco, Lampard, Malouda; Anelka (Drogba 74).

Goals Bosingwa 33, Anelka 37, 45

Booked Terry 51, Bosingwa 57, Ivanovic 77