A clash between two prolific west London teams went Chelsea's way at Stamford Bridge on Sunday evening - but visiting Brentford turned in a competitive performance which their manager Thomas Frank afterwards heralded as "very impressive".
Goals either side of the break from Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson gave the hosts a two-goal cushion and, despite the Bees piling on plenty of pressure in the second half, a late Bryan Mbeumo strike wasn't enough to earn his side a share of the spoils.
Facing the Premier League's top scorers on their own patch, Frank opted to switch up tactically and deployed a 5-3-2 formation to try and stifle the creative talents of an expensively assembled Chelsea side orchestrated by in-form playmaker Cole Palmer.
In large part, the Bees succeeded in their quest and, despite Chelsea firing in 26 shots over the course of the encounter, 10 of those were off target and eight were blocked, numbers that highlight the "good defending" Frank later referenced in his post-match comments.
Brentford piled on the pressure themselves in the second period and, on another day, could easily have left SW6 with a point in the bag: Christian Nørgaard's volley, which drew an outstanding save from Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez, and substitute Fábio Carvalho’s close-range shot off the woodwork underlining the threat posed by the Bees.
Although his troops had to go back home empty-handed, Frank felt Brentford were "unlucky" not to come away with a point and there were plenty of positives to take for their Danish head coach.
Chief among them was the all-round nature of the performance and the depth of the squad that delivered it, which the Bees boss also alluded to in his post-match team talk after the win over Newcastle United.
🗨️ "Just wow. They are a good team with good players and you, totally fair, well deserved win" 🙌
Thomas Frank in the dressing room after yesterday's win ❤️🤍 pic.twitter.com/5ZzEOh3BdM
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) December 8, 2024
Dogged defensively, the Bees caused Enzo Maresca's side all sorts of problems in the second half and a quick look at Brentford's subs underlines the strength and depth currently at Frank’s disposal.
First into the fray, just past the hour mark, was the ever-reliable Vitaly Janelt whose 17 passes during his time on the pitch contained one key pass and an accurate through-ball, with the German finishing with a pass completion rate of 92 per cent.
Around 10 minutes after Janelt's introduction, Carvalho, Kevin Schade and Kristoffer Ajer entered the pitch - and each of the trio contributed.
Carvalho's darting run and glanced shot somehow bounced to safety off the underside of the bar, while Schade laid on a lovely assist - his sixth goal involvement in his last four games - for Mbeumo's well-taken consolation in the 90th minute.
Ajer’s defensive work (winning a tackle and aerial duel), meanwhile, was allied to effective offensive distribution (one key pass for Carvalho's effort).
Finally, Brentford's fifth substitution of the night saw 18-year-old Jayden Meghoma earn his first four minutes of Premier League game time, with the highly-rated England youth international completing all three of his passes in what must have been a memorably frantic introduction to the top flight.
Tried-and-trusted Premier League veterans, exciting young attackers and a top teenage talent; Brentford's bench, in many ways, reflected the Bees’ squad as a whole - the depth of their options softening the blow of Igor Thiago being ruled out with what his manager described as "a minor injury".
The games come thick and fast now, with the Bees' much-anticipated Carabao Cup quarter-final against Newcastle next up, and Frank will want to squeeze every last drop out of a squad that has quality and depth in the four games up to and including the New Year's Day fixture against Arsenal.