Chelsea summer signing Jordan Henderson didn't hide his frustration with Emiliano Martinez after Brentford struck their first goal
Jordan Henderson
Jordan Henderson made his feelings clear after Chelsea conceded the opener
View 2 Images
Jordan Henderson appeared to criticise Emiliano Martinez after the Chelsea goalkeeper conceded the first goal against Brentford on Friday night. The Bees humiliated Xabi Alonso's side with a 3‑0 win at the GTech Community Stadium.
Goals from Jaidon Anthony, Igor Thiago and Fabio Carvalho schooled the Blues as they slipped into their third straight winless game, with 12 goals conceded in their first five Premier League fixtures. Martinez, signed from Aston Villa for £7.5million, was expected to solve Chelsea's goalkeeper problem.
Former No.1 Robert Sanchez, who shipped two goals on the opening day against Fulham, is currently on loan at Como. But Martinez has struggled to replicate the form he was praised for at Villa since arriving in west London.
Moments after Anthony's opener, Henderson voiced his frustration to the Argentine. Brentford capitalised far too easily from a corner, with Mikkel Damsgaard's delivery swung to the back post and headed across to an unmarked Anthony.
Jordan Henderson and Emi Martinez
Henderson exchanged words with the goalkeeper after Chelsea conceded the opener
View 2 Images
Martinez remained static throughout the set‑piece, and Henderson appeared annoyed that he hadn't come for the ball. Alarm bells also rang when Anthony drifted past three defenders to score.
Henderson, making his Chelsea debut after recovering from a broken arm on England duty, seemed to be marking nobody at the time.
FOLLOW OUR CHELSEA FB PAGE! Latest Blues news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
Analysing the moment on Sky Sports at full‑time, former Chelsea captain Cahill said: "I’m sure the manager will address it in videos and on the training ground. Obviously, as a goalkeeper and a back four, you feel a big responsibility when goals are going in.
"The only way you can get out of that is by working hard together and making sure you’re harder to play against, and be more ruthless. There just seems to be a kind of softness at the minute in terms of the way they concede goals.
"You have a few weeks now during the international break, although some of them won’t be there, but they will have time."
Alonso is trying to implement a back three with wing‑backs, a system that has often proved risky in the English top flight. A recent example came under Ruben Amorim at Manchester United, where he struggled to make his back‑three structure work.