West Brom 1-0 Delhi Dynamos: Nacer Chadli makes Baggies debut as Tony Pulis’ men struggle to victory over Indian side
Marouane Chamakh's trial ended after just 25 minutes as he limped off in the first meeting between Premier League and Indian clubs
RECORD signing Nacer Chadli played an hour for West Brom as his new side stuttered to a 1-0 win against Delhi Dynamos.
The £13million buy from Tottenham was denied a debut strike when his fizzing effort was parried.
18-year-old James Smith scored the only goal for Albion, converting Matt Phillips’s cross from close range.
Indian Super League side Delhi almost equalised, but Kean Lewis smacked the crossbar from outside the box.
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West Brom’s record signing Nacer Chadli played 60 minutes on his debut as his new side beat Delhi Dynamos 1-0 at the Hawthorns.
All eyes were on the winger who joined from Tottenham for £13million earlier this week, becoming Albion’s most expensive ever player.
Chadli is out to prove his doubters wrong and he looked assured slotting into a front three with Matt Phillips and trialist Maroune Chamakh.
The Belgian winger almost got his Baggies career off to the perfect start with a goal in the second-half but saw his effort saved.
He was frozen out at Spurs and hadn’t even made the bench this season before moving to the Midlands.
That lack of match fitness began to show in the second-half before he was taken off, but Chadli displayed enough to leave Albion fans excited about his future.
He has a perfect opportunity to rebuild his career at the Hawthorns and produced a solid first showing from which to improve under boss Tony Pulis.
The 27-year-old gave Delhi an early warning sign, showing tidy footwork to beat three defenders and shaping to shoot before his next touch was too heavy.
Chadli continued to look dangerous, forcing goalkeeper Antonia Dobas into a stunning save to keep out his powerful shot from 10 yards.
This was only a friendly, and Chadli has plenty of time to prepare for his Premier League bow as West Brom travel to Bournemouth next Saturday.
FACTS, STATS, GOALS AND LOLS
1. Former Arsenal forward Marouane Chamakh and ex-Liverpool midfielder Mohamed Sissoko played as trialists for West Brom as Tony Pulis looks to add his small squad - but only lasted 25 minutes before he hobbled off with an injury .
2. This milestone friendly was the first ever meeting between Premier League and Indian Super League clubs.
3. Nacer Chadli wasn’t the only senior debutant for the hosts - £3m defender Allan Nyom also played his first match in Albion colours.
4. Delhi signed Albion youngster Samir Nabi before the match and he made his debut against his old club.
5. World Cup and Champions League winner Florent Malouda, 36, rolled back the years to play 72 minutes for the visitors.
6. All proceeds from the match, which included a fun day, will go to charity.
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7. West Brom's future is in safe hands. 18-year-old James Smith was excellent after coming off the bench in the second half.
8. Despite being only two years old as a football club, Delhi were no pushovers. They even went close to scoring.
9. The away side made full use of the 'friendly’ feel, using no less than three goalkeepers over the course of the game.
10. Gianluca Zambrotta, a World Cup winner with head coach of Delhi, hopes to build on the recent success of Italian bosses.