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FROM STAMFORD BRIDGE – Chelsea made life difficult for themselves with a 2-1 win over Brentford on Sunday evening.
The Blues led 2-0 despite missing a number of chances before Bryan Mbeumo forced the finish with a 90th minute strike. The Bees were unable to find a way through, but Marc Cucurella was prepared enough to receive a second yellow card after the final whistle.
The win, however testy, moves Chelsea just two points behind league leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
How the game went
On a Sunday evening without food on a mid-December night, both teams performed well. West London Derby.
The lack of communication on either side was captured by a series of three seconds that saw Mads Roerslev and Marc Cucurella exchange shots for a teammate while looking for a different teammate.
Appropriately, it took a mistake for the first control to appear. Brentford Goalkeeper Mark Flekken never got between a Brentford player with his curling pass late in the first half, instead rolling the ball straight into the path of Noni Madueke. The Dutch manager quickly made amends for his mistake, and tried Madueke’s low shot to go wide.
This opening excited the hosts, and caused a late frenzy that reached Cucurella’s door. Escaping between Sepp van den Berg and Roerslev, ChelseaHis low back was met by Madueke’s well-measured cross at the back of the post, producing two clear cuts as first his forehead and then his hair connected to the ball.
Chelsea made up for it in the first half to capitalize long term, scoring Brentford not only in their own half but also in their defensive third in the big game. Nicolas Jackson spurned a chance to double Chelsea’s lead, diving inside the six-yard box after a flick-on from Jadon Sancho.
Sancho found himself in front of goal again recently. Cole Palmer’s pass that bounced the ball, the Manchester United loanee jumped past Flekken but he got the better of it. Sancho cleverly rolled the ball past the goalkeeper on the line, but he couldn’t get his teammate on.
Bolstered by a steady approach from Thomas Frank, Brentford’s trio of substitutes came close to making Chelsea pay for their failure. Kristoffer Ajer stood up to Fabio Carvalho for an effort that deflected off the crossbar. Kevin Schade, another junior, followed suit.
Jackson added to the lead in the 80th minute. Taking advantage of Brentford’s desperation, the striker found the bottom corner, deflecting Ethan Pinnock inside.
Mbeumo’s 90th-minute strike was not only a consolation, but the post-match brawl that led to Cucurella’s second yellow could prove costly in the coming weeks.
Full player ratings from Chelsea 2-1 Brentford available here.
It can always be hair. Like a superhero’s cape, Cucurella’s cartoonish scurry is topped by his flowing mane. The image of the endless movement is not clear enough to catch his breath.
Early in the second half, Chelsea’s left-back found himself heading down the right side of the pitch with no other purpose than to elbow Yoane Wissa between the shoulders. Cucurella is not always so messy.
The Euro 2024 winner was in the right place at the right time to take advantage of the uncertain path that exists between wing backs and centre-backs. It was not the first or last operation that Cucurella performed in that area. But again, he seems to have covered all the other blades of grass.
The special type of destruction of Cucurella does not have a limit of matches. After the referee’s whistle, the controversial defender still managed to earn a red card after picking up a second challenge.
Stamford Bridge rose in unison to thank Jackson after he retired from the game. However, the deranged crowd spent most of the last 80 minutes booing by 15.
From the opening whistle, Jackson looked poised to hit his 50th mark Premier League appearance and purpose. The Senegalese international scored a header within the first three minutes and finished the game with 7 shots. Jackson’s best sight came in the 60th minute, but somehow he managed to cut Sancho’s cross over the bar.
With his last effort from a cheering display, Jackson eventually picked out a corner to bring home his 23rd goal in England’s top flight. In comparison, Didier Drogba only scored 20 goals in his first 50 Premier League games.
Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium isn’t for everyone – unlike its predecessor Griffin Park, it doesn’t have pitches in every corner for starters – however, the Bees value home comforts more than any other Premier League club.
From what Frank repeatedly referred to as “Hounslow bus station”, Brentford took 22 points from a possible 24 – the best record of any side in the division. However, Sunday’s result leaves them with one point from eight outings.
The identity of Brentford’s opponents offers a straightforward explanation. Chelsea are the sixth of last season’s eight winners to host the Bees. In contrast, none of the elites have attended Gtech so far.
