Brentford thumps Chelsea to surge into third
Brentford thrashed Chelsea 3-0 in the west London derby to climb up to third on the Premier League table, with Jaidon Anthony, Igor Thiago and Fabio Carvalho scoring the goals.
Chelsea now has the worst defensive record in the league outright, while its 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 assistant referee's flag to go up for offside.
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 its 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.
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.
Things got even better for the home fans deep into stoppage-time when 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 remains unbeaten with two wins and three draws in the Premier League this term, Chelsea is now winless in three and sits seventh on the table.
Alonso said after the game: "I'm disappointed with the second half and with the result. This is not enough to compete in the Premier League.
"We were not able to maintain our level for the full 90 minutes and that's why we were punished today.
"At the moment, we are not consistent enough to compete throughout the whole game – 45 minutes is not enough.
"You need to maintain it for the whole game, knowing that every detail is important, and every action can be decisive."
Asked how Chelsea could plug its leaky backline, he added: "It's about everything.
"It's about the mentality, the football and the tactical things that we need to keep improving. We can do much better."
Alonso also refused to use Joao Pedro's absence as an excuse for Chelsea only managing two shots on target.
"It's not about looking for excuses. We need to look at each other and know that we have to work and improve because there is still a long way to go," he said.
"We have to check many things. We got into situations, but we were not precise enough with the final action. That's why we didn't score."
Meanwhile, Keith Andrews was telling his Brentford players to enjoy the journey after climbing to dizzying new heights in the Premier League.
"I think it's important that you enjoy these nights. There's no point hiding it," he said.
"There are some tough days in the game, and you've got to enjoy the different emotions.
"I felt like there was something bubbling towards tonight. I have this unbelievable calm around the team because I trust them, so it's nice to see it come to fruition.
"I see humility and hunger within the group every day. We're very respectful of each other, but we're going to get better. We have to continue improving in this league.
"We try to push boundaries and be really open with each other. Let's continue on our journey because I'm loving it."
