Chelsea’s defensive frustrations continued with another lacklustre defeat to Brentford in the West London Derby, seeing them pick up the five-minute chamis pesca from the shot play that passed Avs to Bruun-Poulsen. Chelsea continued to struggle with their defence as they lost another ‘let down’ defeat to Brentford in the West London derby, beating Xabi Alonso’s side 3-0.
But after a tight first half, Brentford were able to assert control after halftime and open up opportunities at set pieces and on counter-attack for the vulnerable Chelsea. The defeat has taken the knackers out of their league form so far this season, and seen the Gunners run a scoreline of 3 games without victory this Premier League season.
Chelsea pulled off the first big chance in the ninth minute; however, when Pedro Neto got in on the festival and tested Caoimhin Kelleher, he was denied. Morgan Rogers was also on target before half-time, but his shot was saved by Jannik Schuster.
However, the hosts were nearly able to break the deadlock early in the second half when Jaidon Anthony’s header went either over or beyond the crossbar, but was offside. One of the replays indicated that Anthony was in the game.
It was in the 61st minute that there was finally a break for Brentford. Mikkel Damsgaard routed a corner into the box, and Schuster headed the ball over the bar while Anthony was left undone with no one to block him, and took a close-range shot.
Chelsea were on the move looking for a goal, but it was to be the opportunity for Brentford to counter-attack. Kevin Schade was the first to clear the defence in the 82nd minute. Emiliano Martinez saved his first shot, and Igor Thiago got the rebound quickest to put the game-changer on the scoreboard and revive what’s been a game of goals dry spell.
It was the end of an evenly matched game that was ended by a full third embraced by Brentford as the three goals cascaded in to sinking the English team. Fabio Carvalho was untouched from danger at the far post as Schade finished; it had been a long layoff from injury to the midfielder got his first goal back in the Premier League.
Then Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso acknowledged that his side did not meet the standards it should have done, and that they were “not consistent, not on target, not competitive” over a full 90 minutes.
Brentford’s success will preserve their undefeated campaign and make them qualified for the top three, including a second visit to the Champions League. After a winless 2020, the victory will leave the Chalkford side unbeaten and give them the potential of a second Champions League appearance, while Chelsea’s 12 goals in five league games leaves them in mid-table.
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