Ben Chilwell has scored in each of his last three Premier League games for Chelsea, as many as he had in his previous 33 appearances in the competitionBen Chilwell says Chelsea showed the mentality they will need for success this season as they held off an intense late push from Brentford to return to the top of the Premier League.
England left-back Chilwell’s first-half goal – his third in three games for club and country – was enough to win the west London derby, but only thanks to some strong defensive work as the Bees piled on the pressure in the closing stages.
After Liverpool had gone top by thrashing Watford earlier on Saturday, Thomas Tuchel’s side responded in the day’s late game with a mature and dogged display against their promoted hosts.
The European champions dominated the first half but had to dig deep to secure the three points in the first league meeting between the two clubs in 74 years.
“The last 20 minutes, we showed the mentality we need to be showing all season,” Chilwell said.
“It was hell on Earth, the last 20 minutes, but we did pretty well.”
The outcome would have been different had Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo scored instead of twice hitting the Blues woodwork either side of Chilwell’s winner.
In a frantic final 15 minutes where Brentford threw everything at their opponents, Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy had to make two important and brave saves, while Blues defender Trevoh Chalobah also cleared off the line.
Senegal international Mendy also tipped over an acrobatic effort from Bees midfielder Christian Norgaard in injury-time, sealing a victory which the Blues keeper celebrated wildly with his team-mates at the final whistle.
“In the end, the last 20 minutes were suddenly a cup game and they had nothing to lose,” said Tuchel.
“They found momentum and it felt like we had one player less. They played with more belief and we focused too much on defending.
“I was happy with the first 65-70 minutes and we should have scored more. But respect to Brentford.”
Reaction to Brentford v Chelsea, plus the rest of Saturday’s Premier League gamesGo to the Brentford news pageGo to the Chelsea news pageChilwell takes his chance as Chelsea remain firmBrentford 0-1 Chelsea: We needed luck in the end, says TuchelThe early part of the season saw 24-year-old Chilwell largely limited to a place on the Chelsea bench, with Marcos Alonso’s revival earning him the left-wing-back spot in Tuchel’s Premier League line-up.
Tuchel insisted it was “no great drama” and it always seemed likely a player of Chilwell’s calibre would play his part over the long season.
Chilwell spoke afterwards about the importance of “taking your chance”. Recent form suggests he has done exactly that – scoring in the 3-1 win over Southampton before the international break, then finding the net again in England’s 5-0 victory in Andorra last Saturday.
Preferred once again to Alonso against Brentford, the £50m signing from Leicester continued his rich vein of scoring form with a confident and crisp left-foot strike.
Not only did he score the winner but he was part of a defensive unit which remained firm under pressure despite lacking key players.
Veteran centre-back Thiago Silva was missing after playing for Brazil in a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay about 36 hours previously, while Germany international Antonio Rudiger was also out injured.
That saw 22-year-old Malang Sarr given a league debut in a back three also containing Chalobah, another inexperienced youngster, and Andreas Christensen.
“We have Eddy [Mendy] to thank, he was amazing,” Chilwell said. “He made superb saves and got us the three points in the end.
“I’m happy to get on the scoresheet and happy to score the only goal of the game. But we showed our defensive steel.”
Chelsea have conceded just three goals in their first eight Premier League games this season, keeping five clean sheets’There should have only been one winner’ – Frank’Chelsea are very, very, very lucky’ – Frank impressed with Brentford displayBrentford have impressed fans and pundits alike since winning promotion to the Premier League and came away from this match with lots of credit despite the defeat.
Chilwell’s strike was reward for a first half where Chelsea dominated without creating many clear-cut opportunities.
Brentford lacked aggression on the front foot and struggled to impose themselves in the Chelsea third.
But the Bees considerably improved in the final half an hour and will count themselves unfortunate not to earn at least a point.
A higher intensity allowed the hosts to pose more questions of the makeshift Chelsea defence, with tactical tweaks and substitutions from boss Thomas Frank helping his side press the European champions back.
The statistics laid bare their dominance in the final stages.
The Bees had 15 shots in the second half – 12 of which came in the final 11 minutes – and spent almost 40% of the last 15 minutes inside Chelsea’s third.
While it did not produce an equaliser, it earned Frank’s side a proud ovation from the home fans at the final whistle and keeps them in seventh place after an encouraging start to their debut season in the Premier League.
“If you look over the 90 minutes, there can only be one winner – and that’s us,” said Frank.
“We kept the number one side and European champions to five shots. In the end, we were all over them. They got a lucky win.”
Player of the match
MendyÉdouard Mendy
with an average of 8.89
BrentfordSquad number17Player nameToney
Squad number1Player nameRaya
Squad number6Player nameNørgaard
Squad number19Player nameMbeumo
Squad number22Player nameM Jorgensen
Squad number5Player namePinnock
Squad number8Player nameJensen
Squad number9Player nameForss
Squad number14Player nameGhoddos
Squad number15Player nameOnyeka
Squad number18Player nameJansson
Squad number3Player nameHenry
Squad number7Player nameCanós
ChelseaSquad number16Player nameMendy
Squad number21Player nameChilwell
Squad number4Player nameChristensen
Squad number7Player nameKanté
Squad number12Player nameLoftus-Cheek
Squad number14Player nameChalobah
Squad number31Player nameSarr
Squad number28Player nameAzpilicueta
Squad number11Player nameWerner
Squad number8Player nameKovacic
Squad number19Player nameMount
Squad number24Player nameJames
Squad number9Player nameLukaku
Squad number29Player nameHavertz
Line-upsBrentfordFormation 3-5-2
1Raya
22M Jorgensen18Jansson5Pinnock
7Canós15Onyeka6Nørgaard8Jensen3Henry
19Mbeumo17Toney
1Raya22M Jorgensen18Jansson5Pinnock7CanósBooked at 32minsSubstituted forGhoddosat 72’minutes15OnyekaSubstituted forForssat 67’minutes6Nørgaard8Jensen3Henry19Mbeumo17ToneySubstitutes2Thompson4Goode9Forss14Ghoddos20Ajer28Bidstrup30Roerslev33Maghoma40FernándezChelseaFormation 3-5-2
16Mendy
14Chalobah4Christensen31Sarr
28Azpilicueta7Kanté12Loftus-Cheek8Kovacic21Chilwell
11Werner9Lukaku
16Mendy14Chalobah4Christensen31Sarr28AzpilicuetaSubstituted forJamesat 89’minutes7Kanté12Loftus-Cheek8KovacicBooked at 18minsSubstituted forMountat 65’minutes21Chilwell11Werner9LukakuSubstituted forHavertzat 76’minutesSubstitutes1Arrizabalaga3Alonso5Jorginho17Saúl18Barkley19Mount20Hudson-Odoi24James29HavertzReferee:Anthony Taylor
Attendance:16,940
Live TextMatch ends, Brentford 0, Chelsea 1.
Second Half ends, Brentford 0, Chelsea 1.
Attempt blocked. Christian Nørgaard (Brentford) header from the centre of the box is blocked.
Attempt blocked. Saman Ghoddos (Brentford) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt blocked. Christian Nørgaard (Brentford) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Mathias Jensen with a cross.
Corner, Brentford. Conceded by Édouard Mendy.
Attempt saved. Christian Nørgaard (Brentford) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Zanka with a headed pass.
Reece James (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Christian Nørgaard (Brentford).
Substitution, Chelsea. Reece James replaces César Azpilicueta.
Attempt missed. Christian Nørgaard (Brentford) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right.
Attempt saved. Pontus Jansson (Brentford) right footed shot from very close range is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Ethan Pinnock with a headed pass.
Attempt blocked. Christian Nørgaard (Brentford) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
Attempt saved. Ethan Pinnock (Brentford) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Rico Henry with a cross.
Attempt blocked. Christian Nørgaard (Brentford) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Attempt saved. Saman Ghoddos (Brentford) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Attempt saved. Saman Ghoddos (Brentford) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Attempt blocked. Marcus Forss (Brentford) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Foul by Timo Werner (Chelsea).
Christian Nørgaard (Brentford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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