Brentford vs Chelsea Review
Chelsea missed a significant opportunity to secure a place in the Premier League top four as they played a 0-0 draw against their west London rivals, Brentford. Following a major victory over Tottenham on Thursday night, it was somewhat expected that Enzo Maresca would make changes to the lineup. The Blues are also preparing for a UEFA Conference League quarter-final in the coming week, and with four regular starters on the bench, their slow start was not surprising. Chelsea had the best chance early on, but Christopher Nkunku missed an unmarked header inside the box. Overall, the first quarter of the match was uneventful, with Brentford content to sit back and wait for Chelsea to make a mistake.
Kristoffer Ajer, Yoane Wissa, and Mikkel Damsgaard all missed opportunities for the Bees before halftime, reflecting the overall wastefulness of the first half. With a top-four spot on the line this season, Chelsea couldn’t afford any mistakes. Maresca recognized this and made the first move by bringing on Cole Palmer and Pedro Neto an hour into the game. Palmer almost made an immediate impact, forcing Mark Flekken to make a smart save against his curling shot. Although the Bees’ need for a win was less urgent as they found themselves in mid-table, they continued to search for a breakthrough and came close when Kevin Schade sent a shot just past the goal.
In a surprising turn of events, Brentford was the more aggressive team, nearly scoring when Bryan Mbeumo’s shot prompted a great save from Robert Sánchez, followed by Wissa’s header that went just wide. This was the closest either team got to securing a late victory as the match neared its end. The draw means Chelsea remain in fourth place, a point above Man City in fifth place, whiles Brentford sit in 12th place.
