Photo by Chris Lee - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Chris Lee - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Chelsea fans struggled to find any positives from their 3-0 defeat to Brentford, however manager Xabi Alonso has found one area he was impressed with despite the result.
Blues supporters will immediately point to the amount of key players they had missing from their first team squad, and the clear gaps that left in their starting side.
Joao Pedro was absent, meanwhile Moises Caicedo and Reece James were both not available to start in the midfield.
Xabi Alonso says Jordan Henderson was main positive from Chelsea vs Brentford
This saw a couple of first Premier League starts for Chelsea for Valentin Barco and Jordan Henderson, who was on the end of a rough reception from his former side.
Despite the rough reception, Alonso saw the veteran midfielder’s performance as the most positive thing about the Blues’ performance last night.
He said to the Chelsea YouTube channel: “He has had a very good impact. I’m happy with his performance the way he has taken responsibility, connected with the players. So it’s probably the most positive thing about today.”
Henderson actually took responsibility for Chelsea conceding their second goal against the Bees, apologising to Morgan Rogers after his forward pass went astray and Brentford counter attacked with pace.
Brentford v Chelsea FC - Premier League 2026/27
Photo by Harvey Murphy/News Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Henderson’s stats vs Brentford
No player had more touches of the ball than Henderson during the game, however what he did with that time in possession was slightly more concerning.
He completed just 1/10 of his crosses in the game, despite the all-round quality of his delivery actually being quite strong.
The Englishman was successful in both of his duels, and made seven recoveries, while completing 68 of his 76 passes.
While no one will want to see Henderson become a regular in the first team side this season, he has proven that despite his age he will still have a role to play when called upon throughout this campaign.