Andrews tells high-flying Brentford to enjoy the journey after Chelsea win

Keith Andrews told his Brentford players to enjoy the journey after they climbed to third in the Premier League table with a memorable 3-0 thrashing of local rivals Chelsea.

The Bees leapfrogged their more illustrious neighbours in the table going into the extended international break, scoring three second-half goals to deal Xabi Alonso his second defeat as a Premier League manager.

Jaidon Anthony, Igor Thiago and Fabio Carvalho were on target for Brentford, who have gone unbeaten in their opening five games of a top-flight season for the very first time (W2 D3).

The last time Brentford accomplished that feat at any level was in 2013-14, when they ultimately won promotion from League One.

Brentford have now played seven Premier League games on a Friday and won six of them (D1), conceding just one goal in the process. 

Their 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 amid a carnival atmosphere at the Gtech Community Stadium, Andrews always felt another statement result was possible.

"I think it's important that you enjoy these nights. There's no point hiding it," he told Sky Sports. 

"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."

Brentford have won three of their last four London derbies in the Premier League (D1), as many victories as they managed in their previous 21 (W3 D7 L11).

Captain Vitaly Janelt also noted the importance of giving the fans a win to savour going into the hiatus, with Brentford not in action again until they visit Aston Villa on October 10.

"We knew before the break that we had to do something, especially to create another special night and another special experience for everyone," he said.

"It's the last game before the long international break, so there's nothing better than getting three points.

"If we couldn't press, we wanted to defend in a low-to-mid block, force them around us and then play on the counter.

"On the ball, we wanted to be braver and show more personality. I think that's what we did today."