Playing at home in the 10th round, Chelsea lost 0-2 to Brentford, ending their unbeaten streak of three matches in the Premier League this season.
At home, Chelsea had 70% of possession, attempted 17 shots, and won 10 corners, while Brentford only had seven and one corner. However, Chelsea’s dominance became meaningless as HLV Mauricio Pochettino’s players failed to create a clear game plan, both in attack and defense.
Out of Chelsea’s 17 shot attempts, only two were on target, and none resulted in a goal. In contrast, five out of seven of Brentford’s shots found the target, resulting in two goals and three valuable points. Chelsea’s tenth corner kick even led to the second goal for the opposition because the entire home team, including goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, pushed forward to seek an equalizer and couldn’t get back in time when Brentford countered.
This 0-2 defeat marks Chelsea’s first loss in the last three Premier League rounds and four in all competitions. Before this, Pochettino’s team successively defeated Brighton 1-0 in the EFL Cup third round, followed by victories against Fulham (2-0), Burnley (4-1), and a 2-2 draw with Arsenal in the Premier League. This result also marked Chelsea’s eighth home defeat in the Premier League since the beginning of 2023, the highest number in a year since their ten home defeats in 1986.
In contrast, Brentford showed they are Chelsea’s bane by becoming the first team to win all three of their first away matches against Chelsea in the Premier League. They also achieved their first consecutive victories in four away London derbies, extending their unbeaten streak against London rivals in the Premier League to 13 matches (7 wins, 6 draws).
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea entered the match with confidence but couldn’t materialize their territorial advantage against a resolute Brentford defense. Fortunately for the hosts, the crossbar denied Noni Madueke’s beautifully struck left-footed shot in the 10th minute. If this shot had found the net, the match might have taken a different turn.
Chelsea continued to dominate but squandered numerous opportunities. Goalkeeper Mark Flekken also shone in the visitors’ goal, repeatedly denying long-range shots from Connor Gallagher and a close-range effort from Marc Cucurella after Cole Palmer teed up a ball into the penalty area. Raheem Sterling also missed the target with a wayward shot following Palmer’s assist.
As Chelsea grew increasingly impatient due to missed chances, Brentford grew in confidence. The loss of Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk somewhat weakened Chelsea compared to their four-game unbeaten run before this match, and this limitation became evident in the second half.
Brentford had a clear opportunity in the 50th minute with a well-coordinated attack from the right wing. However, Vitaly Janelt’s shot hit the goalkeeper, Sanchez. Nevertheless, Brentford didn’t lament this miss for long. In the 58th minute, after a throw-in and a cross from Bryan Mbeumo, Ethan Pinnock rose to head powerfully, beating Robert Sanchez to open the scoring.
This goal made Chelsea more disoriented in their play. They still created a few chances, but Gallagher and Thiago Silva proved ineffective. Towards the end of the match, the home team pressed high, and they almost conceded a second goal in the 90th minute when they were caught off guard by Brentford’s counter-attack in a 4v1 situation following a successful clearance from a corner kick. However, Sanchez made an excellent save to block Yegor Yarmolyuk’s shot.
Nevertheless, in the final minute of injury time, Chelsea conceded a goal in the same heart-pounding manner as in the previous instance. This time, even Sanchez pushed forward to participate in a corner kick. This allowed Brentford to counter, and Neil Maupay’s pass found Mbeumo to score into the empty net.
The final whistle following that goal was almost drowned out by the disappointment of Chelsea’s fans, who were greatly disappointed by their team’s performance.
