Goal-scoring debut pleases Pedro
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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.
Having arrived from Barcelona earlier this week in a deal, 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 tenth 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 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 team-mate of his at Barcelona, said he was not surprised to see the 28-year-old make such a speedy impact. "I knew straight away he would make an impact in this team," Fabregas said. "It was something that we basically didn't have in our team, this pacy player that goes behind defenders, can dribble, goes one against one.
"He goes behind defenders, stretches teams. In the side we have Diego, we have (Loic) Remy that does that, but on the wings, Willian, Eden (Hazard), they like more the ball at their feet. So I knew straight away the mentality of this guy is fantastic and I'm very happy for him."