Luiz Felipe Scolari may not take kindly to the comparison, but this felt like a throwback to the days when José Mourinho was in charge. Chelsea dominated from start to finish against limited opponents to move briefly back to the top of the table, without quickening the pulse. A derby match against Fulham tomorrow should present the Brazilian with a greater insight into the English tradition of festive football.

Given Mourinho’s achievements, and more importantly, Chelsea’s run of one win from five matches at Stamford Bridge before yesterday, Scolari should take it as a compliment. He did not see eye to eye with Mourinho when they worked in Portugal, but there is much he could learn from his predecessor when it comes to winning trophies in England. Unfortunately, Scolari also appears to be emulating the Portuguese’s habit of winter hibernation, as he again sent out Ray Wilkins to face the media in what was known as the “Steve Clarke role”.

“He’s very happy, as you can imagine,” Wilkins, the assistant manager, said. “We’ve got three points and up until a minute ago we were top of the Premier League. He’s loved every minute of it this Christmas. It’s the first time he’s had training on Christmas Day and really enjoyed being with the lads last night.”

One of Mourinho’s biggest tendencies was obsessively looking one step ahead — why waste energy beating Charlton Athletic 5-0 when you have to play Manchester United in three days’ time? — and, after the flowing football of the autumn stalled during the winter, this may be a lesson that Scolari has absorbed. Although they passed the ball as crisply as ever and looked to get to the byline at every opportunity, there was more than an air of a back-to-basics approach from Chelsea, with the primary focus on maintaining possession. This they achieved to an almost absurd degree, like children refusing to part with their new Christmas football.

With dissenting voices whispering around every corner, Scolari has endured a difficult few weeks, and this victory may be remembered as the moment when he regained his mojo. In any industry, the art of management is based on making the correct decisions, and Scolari got all the big ones right, particularly the dropping of Deco in favour of Didier Drogba. The Ivory Coast striker scored his first Premier League goal of the season in the third minute from a cross by Joe Cole, while the England midfield player also helped to create the second for Frank Lampard on the stroke of half-time.

Cole has always had to work harder than his team-mates to stay in the side so this was a timely reminder of his talent. The 27-year-old was his usual busy self throughout, combining with José Bosingwa to torment Paul Robinson down the right before moving to the left to combine with Ashley Cole for Chelsea’s second, which, given Scolari’s fondness for Deco, is just as well. The Portugual playmaker is unlikely to stay on the sidelines for long.

Drogba also had one of his better days and, with a combination of sharper shooting and slightly less attentive goalkeeping from Scott Carson, could have scored a hat-trick in the second half, but little was learnt about his potential to play with Nicolas Anelka. The France striker was given an unceremonious reminder of his place in the pecking order by being deployed on the left and was as subdued as the crowd, the majority of whom seemed to be nursing heavy hangovers.

Chelsea were helped by West Bromwich Albion’s crippling caution, with the surprising omission of their first-choice strikers, Roman Bednar and Luke Moore, leaving them short of firepower. Tony Mowbray, the manager, defended his decision afterwards, admitting that he had prioritised tomorrow’s home match against Tottenham Hotspur as a better opportunity to get three points.

“You’re either very silly or very brave to play two strikers here,” Mowbray said. “In our predicament, we’ve got to target certain football matches and if you look at Tottenham at home and Chelsea away and make a decision. If we win on Sunday, it could be the best decision I’ve made this season.” West Brom troubled the home side only once, when Michael Ballack lost his cool and appeared to slap Christ Brunt. The Germany captain collected his fifth booking of the season and will miss the FA Cup third-round tie against Southend United through suspension, but was fortunate to stay on the pitch.

“I wish Rob Styles [the referee] was here to explain the decision,” Mowbray said. “I’m not going to urge the referee to send someone off, but he did slap him in the face.” Mourinho would not have been so understated.

Chelsea 4-1-3-2: P Cech 6, J Bosingwa 7, Alex 6, B Ivanovic 6, A Cole 7, J Obi Mikel7, J Cole 8, M Ballack 6, F Lampard 7, D Drogba 7, N Anelka 6. Substitutes: F Malouda (for Drogba, 67), Deco (for J Cole, 79min). Not used: C Cudicini, P Ferreira, S Kalou, Mineiro.

West Bromwich Albion 4-4-2: S Carson 6, G Zuiverloon 5, A Méïté 5, J Olsson 6, P Robinson 4, J Morrison 6, R Koren 6, J Greening 5, C Brunt 5, D Kim 5, C Beattie 5. Substitutes: L Barnett 5 (for Méïté, 29min), R Bednar 5 (for Kim, 69). Not used: D Kiely, M Cech, L Moore, G Dorrans, Borja Valero

Attendance: 43,417
Referee: R Styles

Star man: Joe Cole
Under pressure to perform having been preferred to the manager's favourite, Deco, but more than justified the decision by creating both goals with balls from either flank and was a threat all match.

Window watch
Luiz Felipe Scolari has asked for money to strengthen his squad without getting the response the Chelsea manager was after and is likely to have to keep working with what he has. A loan signing such as Vagner Love, of CSKA Moscow, is a possibility. Tony Mowbray, the West Bromwich Albion manager, needs a regular goal-scorer, but top-class strikers are hardly queuing up to join clubs at the foot of the Barclays Premier League.