Chelsea vs Brentford Review
Chelsea closed the gap to the Premier League leaders by just two points after a close 2-1 victory over Brentford, marking their fourth consecutive league win under Enzo Maresca’s surprising title contenders. Having previously lost all three of their recent Premier League encounters with the Bees at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea needed to end that streak to catch up with Liverpool at the top of the table. With this in mind, the Blues began the match strongly, with Nicolas Jackson heading just over the bar and Cole Palmer forcing a save from Mark Flekken. Chelsea dominated the first half, but a crucial block by Levi Colwill, prevented Mikkel Damsgaard from scoring midway through the half.
The Bees ultimately faltered when Chelsea’s 21st cross of the match, six more than their average per game, resulted in the first goal just two minutes before halftime. Marc Cucurella, who had never scored a Premier League goal for Chelsea before, made a run into the box to connect with Noni Madueke’s precise delivery, executing a diving header that ended his scoring drought in style.
After the break, Chelsea continued their momentum, putting Brentford under pressure as they aimed for a second goal. It seemed that opportunity had come on the hour mark when Jadon Sancho raced to the byline and found Jackson, but astonishingly, the Chelsea forward misfired, making poor contact and sending his shot over the bar from a prime position.
Robert Sánchez, who had been mostly a bystander during the match, made a stunning one-handed save to deflect Christian Nørgaard’s volley just before substitute Fábio Carvalho hit the crossbar from close range. The visitors seemed to have the upper hand, but after missing earlier chances, Jackson capitalized on a breakaway, skillfully finishing at the near post after taking on Ethan Pinnock. In the 90th minute, Bryan Mbuemo managed to score after breaking through the defense, but it was merely a consolation goal as Chelsea secured the win.
However, their victory was marred by unsightly incidents after the match, which resulted in Cucurella receiving a red card. Chelsea now has the opportunity to temporarily take the top spot in the Premier League before current leaders Liverpool play, but they must win against Everton next Sunday to do so. On the other hand, Brentford is still searching for their first away win in the Premier League (with 1 draw and 7 losses), and their away record remains the second-worst in the league, although their impressive home performance (7 wins, 1 draw) has been a silver lining.
