Brentford 3-0 Chelsea: Andrews' side surge into third with memorable derby win

Brentford thrashed Chelsea 3-0 in Friday's West London derby to climb to third in the Premier League table, with Jaidon Anthony, Igor Thiago and Fabio Carvalho scoring.

Chelsea now have the worst defensive record in the league outright, while their attacking woes in the absence of Joao Pedro – who withdrew from Brazil's squad with a knee injury – will also concern Xabi Alonso.

The teams managed just two shots on target apiece in a low-key opening half, the first of which was a fierce drive from the right side of the area by Pedro Neto, which was beaten away by Caoimhin Kelleher.

The tricky duo of Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers looked most likely to unlock Brentford, and the latter curled a routine free-kick straight at Kelleher before having a left-footed drive bravely blocked by Jannik Schuster.

But it was the Bees who showed more attacking impetus after the break, dealing Chelsea a warning when Anthony's looping header clipped the top of the crossbar – possibly via a slight touch from Emiliano Martinez – only for the offside flag to go up.

And the Blues did not learn from that scare as, just beyond the hour mark, Schuster climbed well to help Mikkel Damsgaard's corner back across the face of goal, where Anthony was waiting to nod into an unguarded net.

Chelsea then grew desperate in their attempts to force an equaliser, with no black shirts able to capitalise on a scramble from a corner and Palmer's shot deflecting wide after he showed excellent feet inside a crowded penalty area.

And with the visitors throwing men forward, Kevin Schade was played clean through on goal by Damsgaard in the 83rd minute. Although the German's tame effort was parried by Martinez, Thiago was waiting to gratefully tuck into an empty net.

And things got even better for the home fans deep into added time, as a half-cleared Michael Kayode throw-in led to Schade curling a lovely ball in from the left, which Carvalho swept into the roof of the net.

While Brentford are still unbeaten with two wins and three draws in the Premier League this term, Chelsea are now winless in three and sit seventh in the table.

Friday feeling for Brentford

There just seems to be something about Friday nights at the Gtech Community Stadium. Brentford have played seven Friday games in the Premier League and have won six of them, drawing the other and conceding only one goal in the process.

The Bees' points-per-game average of 2.71 on Fridays is the best of any side to play three or more games on a specific day of the week in the competition's history.

And Keith Andrews' side were ultimately good value for the victory, having put up 2.65 expected goals from 13 shots, compared to Chelsea's 0.85 xG from 12 attempts.

Thiago's goal came at a crucial time, with Chelsea starting to dominate territory as they hunted an equaliser, and it was the Brazilian's first goal in the Premier League this season, from his 13th shot. Last season, his 22 goals were only bettered by Erling Haaland's 27.

As for Chelsea, Alonso's introductions of the experienced Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson did not pay dividends. 

With an average age of 27 years and 349 days, Chelsea named their oldest starting XI for a Premier League game since May 2023 versus Arsenal (28y 278d). Welbeck (35 years old) and Henderson (36) became the oldest English players to start a Premier League game for the Blues since a 36-year-old John Terry in May 2017 against Sunderland.