**BY YANN TEAR**
Chelsea got the Brentford monkey off their backs to underline their increasingly serious title credentials. Having lost three in a row at the Bridge to their supposed west London inferiors, the Blues have finally addressed that trend.
The win extended their sequence of successive victories to seven and their unbeaten run to 10. They also move to within two points of leaders Liverpool – albeit having played a game more – and four ahead of Arsenal.
Here are the main takeaways.
**THE LINE-UPS**
**Chelsea** (4-2-3-1): Sanchez – Gusto, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella – Fernandez, Caicedo – Madueke, Palmer, Sancho – Jackson (Nkunku 83)
Unused subs: Jorgensen, Disasi, Dewsbury-Hall, George, Acheampong, Guiu, Veiga, Rak Sayki
**Brentford** (3-5-2): Flekken – van den Berg, Collins, Pinnock – Roerslev (Ajer 76), Norgaard, Yarmolyuk (Carvalho 76), Damsgaard (Janelt 63), Lewis-Potter (Meghoma 86) – Mbeumo, Wissa (Schade 76)
Unused subs: Valdimarsson, Mee, Konak, Trevitt
**SNAPSHOT OF THE GAME**
Marc Cucurella bagged only his second ever goal for the Blues since his 2022 switch from Brighton. The Spaniard ghosted into the box between two defenders to connect superbly with a ball pinged in from the right touchline by Noni Madueke in the 43rd minute.
It deservedly broke the deadlock after a first-half that the Blues dominated. It needed some agility from Bees keeper Mark Flekken to thwart Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer and Madueke before the goal.
Weirdly though, the defender blotted his copybook by seeing red after the final whistle – picking up a second yellow card from ref Peter Bankes.
Palmer became more and more of a threat after the break and Sancho set up a sitter for Jackson that the striker clumsily fired over to make the evening less comfortable than it should have been.
Brentford took an age to create any sort of danger but when they did, Robert Sanchez was equal to the task of turning over a volley from Bees skipper Christian Norgaard before Fabio Carvalho smacked a Kristoffer Ajer cross off the underside of the crossbar moments after coming on.
Jackson appeared to have settled it all 10 minutes from time, finishing off smartly on the break after being released by Enzo Fernandez, but the Bees made it a nervy finish by replying when Bryan Mbeumo raced away onto a Kevin Schade pass to tuck home past Sanchez.
**TACTICAL APPROACH**
The Bees strung five across the middle to try and negate the creative trio of Madueke, Palmer and Jadon Sancho. Malo Gusto’s forays down the right added menace and the impregnable barrier formed by the double pivot of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez stifled Brentford’s ambitions to get forward at pace.
The visitors created little for three-quarters of the game but a triple substitution from Bees boss Thomas Frank sparked an upsurge in endeavour and energy. Maresca did not feel the need to tinker much with his personnel during the game, making only one like-for-like swap at centre forward.
**STAR MAN**
The night seemed to belong to Cucurella. You just can’t ignore that hair. He had a fine game down the left side of defence but also in getting forward frequently to add weight to attacks. Then he got himself needlessly sent off to take the gloss off his evening. Maybe a bit less eye-catching was Caicedo, but in reality he was probably the stand-out figure with his energy and involvement. Part of a very strong looking defensive-midfield unit.
**BEST MOMENT**
Cucurella’s celebratory jig after his rare goal, which involved flicking that luxuriant hair from side to side. Not so endearing for opposition fans but a moment to savour for the Chelsea faithful. “We love you Mark!” bellowed fans near the tunnel as the players trooped off at half-time, having just taken the lead through their marauding Iberian.
Towards the end, after Cucurella had fouled an opponent then won a free-kick, fans were chanting his name again: “He eats paella, he drinks Estrella, his hair’s (expletive deleted) massive.”
**MOAN OF THE MATCH**
That weird, unlovely kick-off time for a Sunday. Who wants to wait around all day for a game when we could all be at home watching Wolf Hall? OK, it’s not so bad when it’s a local derby, as fans don’t have to worry so much about getting home, but this is not Spain. Maybe in time it’ll catch on, but it just feels culturally wrong. Not that fans mind too much about inconveniences and strange start times if a win comes along to make it all worthwhile.
**TALKING POINTS DOWN THE PUB**
That increasingly enticing league table. Forget those title disclaimers from Enzo Maresca. The teams above have shown themselves to be vulnerable and are dropping points. Man City look like they are out of the picture after losing the Manchester derby so dramatically. Arsenal have open play goalscoring issues. Even impressive Liverpool among the other ‘untouchables’ named by the Chelsea manager have squandered a few points while the Blues have eaten up the ground. There should be a lot of excitable talk among those fans dreaming of previously-unexpected glory.
**WHAT THE BOSS HAD TO SAY**
Enzo Maresca comments to follow.
_Pictured top: Marc Cucurella savours his rare moment of goalscoring glory (Picture: ALAMY/John Walton)_