Brentford 2-2 Chelsea
by Layth Yousif
at the Brentford Community Stadium
IT WAS honours even after an enthralling west London derby that saw Keith Andrews’s battling Bees equalise with a last-gasp leveller against the Club World Champions.
While 74 might be the figure those concerned with the veracity of the Premier League have been focusing on this week, it was the number 93 that Brentford fans were far more interested in, following a pulsating clash of styles and cultures, squeezed into an unprepossessing corner of the capital, crammed as it is between the A4 flyover, Chiswick Roundabout, and Kew Bridge.
The latter being the minute that Brentford substitute Fabio Carvalho scored a dramatic late goal to ensure this absorbing match ended 2-2. While the former figure relates to alleged breaches of agent regulations Chelsea have been charged with that span the period between 2009 and 2022, when the club were owned by billionaire oligarch Roman Abramovich, primarily relating to events which occurred between the 2010-11 and 2015-16 seasons.
In a compact but fevered stadium, in front of 16,795 baying fans, as the clock ticked down towards the end of the allotted six minutes of added time, with Enzo Maresca’s quality-laden Blues leading 2-1 after overturning a 1-0 first half deficit, Carvalho forced the ball home in the third minute of injury time to grab a point and make it 2-2.
The talented 23-year-old, who arrived at Brentford via a spell at Liverpool, latched onto Kristoffer Ajer’s flick on in a crowded box following Kevin Schade’s long throw, in a targeted tactic that, in the words of Bees boss Andrews, is intended to create “chaos.’
It was nothing more than his combative Brentford side deserved after this full-blooded affair.
While the strains of uplifting dance music could be heard coming from a festival at the nearby Gunnersbury Park, it was fair to say there were just as euphoric scenes at the Brentford Community Stadium on a deceptively chilly Saturday evening in TW8.
Following a striking pre-match red and white Tifo, organised to mark “100 years of red and white” — a nod to the 1889-founded Bees wearing their distinctive colours for a century, and of course, their infernal, alas now trademark, flickering “light show, rounded-off” with a booming version of The Beatles’ Hey Jude, a lively Brentford side started with vigour.
In a sign of things to come, Schade had a shot blocked after a long ball forward was intelligently played onto the German attacker by Igor Thiago. Even if, from the resulting corner Schade headed wide, neutrals could still savour the fact that the Bees’ bustling Brazilian striker Thiago — who suffered dreadfully with injuries in his debut season after arriving in £30 million deal from Club Brugge — was edging nearer to his belligerent best.
In an opening half-an-hour high on endeavour if not quality, referee Stuart Atwell booked Jorrel Hato for an agricultural challenge on Thiago, that led to a free-kick into the box by Jensen which came to nothing.
That was before the lively Schade twisted and turned the Blues backline including Tosin Adarabioyo, before firing past Robert Sanchez low into the far corner. The assist coming from veteran Jordan Henderson’s long ball, albeit a perceptive one, to put the Bees 1-0 ahead 10 minutes before half time, in front of watching England boss Thomas Tuchel.
Amid the eruption of joy in this humble corner of west London it was noticeable that Bees boss Andrews’s fist pumped in satisfaction, underlining his pre-match assertion that Brentford can and should be aiming their sights higher than merely avoiding a relegation battle this term.
Stung, Chelsea rallied with Jamie Gittens firing in a speculative effort that former Liverpool keeper Caoimhin Kelleher easily gathered. That was prior to £107m captain Enzo Fernandez’s corner hitting the woodwork moments before the interval.
It was to Brentford’s credit that the frustrated Maresca — clad in skinny jeans with expensive trainers — made a triple change during the interval, introducing Marc Cucurella, Reece James and Tyrique George, for the underwhelming Hato, Wesley Fofana and Facundo Buonanotte on his debut.
Five minutes later, Chelsea powered forward, with George testing Kelleher with a low angled drive that the Cork-born keeper did well to keep out, following Neto’s through ball.
It was then time for Cucurella’s effort to be gathered by Kelleher, as Chelsea strove for an equaliser that saw Maresca doubling down by introducing Cole Palmer for Gittens shortly afterwards.
The move was to pay off shortly afterwards, when the world-class Palmer clinically swept home following Fernandez’s cross into the box, after Joao Pedro nodded onto the Blues No10 on 61 minutes, to make it 1-1.
As the Blues hunted a winner, Bees muscular centre-back Ethan Pinnock athletically blocked Pedro Neto’s shot, as the atmosphere ramped up still further, even as the temperatures dropped.
On 74 minutes, a sweeping Chelsea move was thwarted by an alert Kelleher, much to the relief of the home crowd, after the increasingly influential Neto powered into the box, prior to feeding Cole for a low effort that the former Anfield netminder practically saved on the line.
With time running out, it was time for the monied visitors to debut another new signing, this time Alejandro Garnacho, nabbed from Manchester United.
With five minutes remaining Moises Caicedo fired into the net from the edge of the area to put the Blues 2-1 ahead, even if the Brentford defence was far too slow in denying time and space for the talented £100m Ecuadorian, who arrived from Brighton back in 2023 to flourish at the base of Chelsea’s midfield.
With the noise at fever pitch, Sanchez kept out Ouattara’s deflected cross at the near post with two minutes remaining.
That was before 93 became the magic number, to cue pandemonium and crown a thrilling clash. Carvalho levelling in the fourth minute of injury time after reacting to Ajer’s flick-on from Schade’s long throw into a crowded box to make it 2-2, and secure a well-earned point.
Much to the delight of the home support, and it must be said, Bees boss Andrews, delighted that the intense pressure of his long-throw tactic had paid off. It was the seventh goal Brentford have scored from long throws since the start of last season, five more than other Premier League side.
Speaking after the match, Andrews said: “We were the better side in the first half, we caused no end of trouble with the way we set up and disjointed them, and brought them into areas they didn’t want to be,” adding: “I thought we were relentless in how we kept going in the pursuit of the equaliser.”
With Chelsea now set for two challenging away trips this week, to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, before facing Manchester United at Old Trafford next weekend, Blues boss Maresca reflected, saying: “Unfortunately we lost two points in the last three minutes.”