Brentford beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge for the third season in a row thanks to a header from Ethan Pinnock and a breakaway goal from Bryan Mbuemo.
It is Chelsea’s first defeat in four Premier League matches, who were left to rue missed opportunities throughout the game as Brentford took all three points in this west London derby.
Here are five things we learned from the game…
Chelsea must find killer instinct
Embed from Getty ImagesChelsea drew a blank at the Bridge, but they came close on a few occasions. A great save from Mark Flekken denied Marc Cucurella, while a blazed shot over the bar from Raheem Sterling and Noni Madueke crashing the bar from outside the box were among their opportunities as the Blues had another off day in front of goal. Despite spending £1bn on new signings under Todd Boehly and the rest of the club’s owners, a new striker might be needed in January.
Bogey Bees
Embed from Getty ImagesBrentford are becoming a bogey side for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Since promotion to the Premier League in 2021, the Bees have won away from home every time they have faced Chelsea. It has been a short and pleasant trip for Thomas Frank’s men every time they have travelled across west London. In fact they have won four of their five trips against their west London rivals, with a 3-0 win over Fulham earlier this season. This was their only other away win in the Premier League this season.
One step forward, two steps back for Poch
Embed from Getty ImagesChelsea were making some encouraging progress under Mauricio Pochettino after a 2-2 draw with Arsenal followed back-to-back wins against Fulham and Burnley. It felt as though the mood had changed around the club, and that Chelsea were on the up. The defeat to Brentford is a huge killer of momentum for Pochettino. The goals had been beginning to flow more regularly in recent weeks but they could not continue in the same form.
Noni Madueke impresses on first PL start of season
Embed from Getty ImagesNoni Madueke played on the right wing for Chelsea, starting for the first time in the Premier League this season. His only previous start this season came against AFC Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup. Madueke was a handful all game for Brentford’s Aaron Hickey, and came close to scoring too. His beautiful curling effort struck the crossbar, with the Englishman was keen to impress his manager. Madueke was subbed just after the hour mark but make a good impression on the pitch.
Home form still an issue for Blues
Embed from Getty ImagesChelsea have been beaten at Stamford Bridge for the third time this season and are still without a league home win since August. The trend of bad results at home has continued from last season and it seems Mauricio Pochettino is too struggling to win over the home support. Chelsea knocked on the Brentford door but only tested Brentford keeper Flekken once. Things do not get any easier for Chelsea who host Manchester City next in the first of a run of turbulent fixtures. Chelsea have had more positive results against the bigger teams – drawing with Liverpool and Arsenal, however.
