From Stamford Bridge – Chelsea made life difficult for themselves as they cruised to a 2-1 win over Brentford on Sunday evening.
The Blues took a 2-0 lead despite wasting plenty of chances before Brian Mbeumu capped off a nervy finish with a volley in the 90th minute. The Bees couldn't find a way to break through, but Marc Cucurella was diligent enough to pick up a second yellow card after the final whistle.
However, the win puts Chelsea just two points behind league leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
How the game unfolded
On an unusually quiet Sunday evening, lacking the flavor of a mid-December night, both teams eased their way to this stage. West London Derby.
The lack of fluency seeping into each side was captured by a three-second sequence that saw Mads Rorslev and Mark Cucurella take turns firing the ball at one teammate while aiming at an entirely different teammate.
Conveniently, it took a mistake for the first clear sight of the target to appear. Brentford Goalkeeper Mark Flecken didn't even find another Brentford player with his wayward pass in the closing stages of the first half, instead rolling the ball straight into Noni Madueke's stride. The Dutch goalkeeper quickly made up for his mistake and sent Madueke's low shot beyond the far post.
That match revitalized the hosts, sparking a wave of enthusiasm in the final minutes that culminated in Cucurella's header. Offside between Sepp van den Berg and Roerslev, ChelseaThe diminutive full-back met Madueke's cross at the back post, resulting in two audible hits first to the forehead and then the hair connected to the ball.
Chelsea fine-tuned the sluggish touches that littered the first half to exert more control after the break, with Brentford scoring not only in their own half but also in the defensive third for large amounts of space. Nicholas Jackson refused a glorious opener to double Chelsea's lead, running in from inside the six-yard box after a piece of penetrating curling effort from Jadon Sancho.
Sancho found himself in front of goal again soon after. Walking on to Cole Palmer's offside ball, the on-loan Manchester United player went past Flecken but took himself too far. Sancho brilliantly passed the ball past the goalkeeper on the sideline, but was unable to pass the ball to his teammate.
Encouraged by Thomas Frank's proactive approach, three Brentford substitutes almost made Chelsea pay for their ineptitude. Kristoffer Agger passed the ball to Fabio Carvalho with an attempt that bounced off the crossbar. Kevin Schade, another sub, skated to the follow-up.
Jackson doubled the home side's lead in the 80th minute. Taking advantage of Brentford's desperation, the errant striker found the bottom corner, twisting Ethan Pinnock inside-out in the process.
Mbeumo's 90th-minute goal was little more than a consolation, but the post-match brawl that led to Cucurella receiving a second yellow card could prove costly in the coming weeks.
Full player ratings for Chelsea 2-1 Brentford can be found here.
It could always be poetry. Much like a superhero's cape, Cocurella's cartoonish dash is enhanced by his flowing mane. The image of perpetual motion hardly takes time to catch his breath.
Early in the second half, Chelsea's left-back found himself advancing towards the right side of the pitch with no purpose other than to elbow his elbow between Yoan Wisa's shoulder. Cucurella is not always so messy.
The Euro 2024 winner was in the right place at the right time to capitalize on the zone of uncertainty that always exists between the centre-back and the wide centre-back. This was not the first or last dash Cucurella made in that area of the pitch. But again, it seemed to cover every other blade of grass.
Cucurella's unique brand of chaos cannot be contained by the confines of a match. After the referee whistle blew, the controversial full-back was able to get a red card after receiving a second warning.
Stamford Bridge rose in unison to applaud Jackson off the pitch. However, the restless crowd spent most of the last 80 minutes bemoaning the No.15.
From the opening whistle, Jackson seemed determined to celebrate his 50th anniversary Premier League Appear with a purpose. The Senegal international headed wide of the target in the first three minutes and finished with a match-high seven shots. Jackson's clearest goal came in the 60th minute, but he somehow conspired to tip Sancho's shot over the bar.
And with his last attempt in what was typically a spirited display, Jackson finally found the bottom corner for his 23rd Premier League goal. By comparison, Didier Drogba has scored just 20 goals in his first 50 Premier League appearances.
Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium is not to everyone's liking – unlike its predecessor Griffin Park, it lacks a pub on every corner for starters – yet the Bees value home comforts more than any other club in the Premier League.
From what Frank repeatedly called “a mini-bus stop in Hounslow”, Brentford took 22 points from a possible 24 – the best record of any team in the division. However, Sunday's result leaves them with one point from eight away trips.
The identity of Brentford's opponents offers a straightforward explanation. Chelsea are the sixth team from last season's top eight to host the Bees. In contrast, none of the traditional elite have traveled to Gtech yet.
