5 talking points as Chelsea suffer familiar failure in damaging Brentford defeat

28 October 2023 , 13:27

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Chelsea fell asleep to allow Ethan Pinnock a free header (Image: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Brentford picked up their third straight win at Stamford Bridge to end Chelsea's positive recent run and drive Mauricio Pochettino mad.

The Blues had shown signs of improvement of late, going four games unbeaten with wins over Brighton, Fulham and Burnley and a 2-2 draw against Arsenal. But all their flaws came back to haunt them against the Bees as their attacking woes returned and Brentford made it a hat-trick of Premier League wins in SW6.

There was little to get excited about in the first half, except Noni Madueke hitting the bar and Marc Cucurella side-footing straight at Robert Sanchez from Cole Palmer's cross. And Brentford took the lead in the 58th minute after Chelsea fell asleep from a throw-in, allowing Bryan Mbeumo to pick out an unmarked Ethan Pinnock at the back post to head in.

Frustration grew more and more and, despite their substitutions, Chelsea could not find a way back into the game, with Brentford defending deep and Thiago Silva's late header from a corner the closest they came. Things boiled over at the end, with Chelsea coach Jesus Perez shown the red card for an argument with the Brentford bench.

Mbeumo then tapped into an empty net on the break with Sanchez nowhere to be seen in injury time to add insult to injury. Here are the talking points from Mirror Football .

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1. Palmer the only plus

You could argue it is unsurprising, given he cost £42.5million a few months ago, but Cole Palmer is not lacking in confidence. He showed it by grabbing the ball off Raheem Sterling to take the penalty against Arsenal and he has really grown into his role at Chelsea.

He was absolutely everywhere and involved in everything good Chelsea did in the first half, knitting together play with ease, putting in the cross which Cucurella couldn’t convert and the one which led to a penalty shout by Sterling for a push from Mads Roerslev.

Cole Palmer was at the heart of everything good Chelsea did (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Palmer rarely got chances at Manchester City, where he was way down the pecking order. Now he’s being given opportunities, he’s showing what he can do. Chelsea still need a goalscorer, but the reason they splashed out on Palmer is now very obvious.

2. Bees' initial annoyance

Brentford stayed in their 5-3-2 shape, sent Chelsea into wide areas and then looked to hurt them from any set piece opportunity they got. The problem for Thomas Frank was the lack of quality when they did get set pieces.

Thomas Frank was furious with Brentford's poor use of set pieces (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Two early long throw-ins from Mathias Jensen were well dealt with by Chelsea, who countered dangerously on both occasions. Worse was to come from their first corner, which the Bees played short in an apparent move off the training ground, only for a confused Roerslev to play it all the way back to the goalkeeper.

Looking on from the sidelines, Frank and his coaching staff were furious. Thankfully, they got it right later on.

3. Pochettino’s frustration

Mauricio Pochettino cut a frustrated figure on the sidelines (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

The Chelsea manager is usually fairly calm and measured in his technical area, but he did not stop himself from showing his frustration at Stamford Bridge. Nicolas Jackson was often on the receiving end of a verbal barrage following a few sloppy first touches which surrendered possession.

But Pochettino didn’t limit his anger to his players. When a fan stood up in the stand behind him to tell Chelsea to “wake up”, he was met by Pochettino, who told him in no uncertain terms to shut up and sit down. At half-time, referee Simon Hooper was also in Pochettino’s bad books, having blown up while the Blues were on the attack. He looked seething as he went down the tunnel and Perez lost his cool later on.

4. Sloppy defending punished

Ethan Pinnock was left unmarked to head in (Alex Broadway/Getty Images)

There didn't appear to be any danger when Brentford took a throw-in down their right-hand side, but it quickly became apparent things weren't as they seemed. Marc Cucurella did not get tight enough to his man, Gallagher put in a lazy effort to stop Mbeumo from crossing and no-one seemed to have any idea Pinnock was there at the back post.

Whether it is a lack of leadership, a simple breakdown in communication or a momentary lapse of concentration, it proved costly. If your attack are struggling to find the back of the net, then the defence needs to remain switched on to give them a chance. This was shambolic stuff from Chelsea.

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5. Unhappy home

Chelsea have a dreadful recent record at home (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Chelsea knew what to expect from Brentford, having lost the last two Premier League games against the Bees at Stamford Bridge. Thomas Tuchel's side were beaten 4-1 here. Frank Lampard's lost 2-0 back in April. This result was not a surprise, especially given lots of teams' success at Chelsea's home ground.

The Blues have now only won once in their last 13 Premier League games at Stamford Bridge, with Aston Villa and Brentford both winning twice and Nottingham Forest and Brighton also leaving with three points. There have also been far too many draws and just two clean sheets in that dismal run.

With their attack misfiring and the home fans making their frustrations heard, the Bridge has become an unhappy home for Chelsea in 2023.

Felix Keith