Brentford has been on a roll this Premier League season as the team continues to maintain its winning ways in the tournament. On Saturday, the Brents secured a comfortable 2-0 victory over arch rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, continuing their remarkable winning streak at the venue.
A header by defender Ethan Pinnock and a last-minute breakaway goal by Bryan Mbeumo steered the hosts to a clean victory that has helped them leapfrog Chelsea to take the 10th spot in the league standings with 13 points. While Chelsea dropped down one spot following the defeat.
Chelsea did start the game on the offensive, as winger Noni Madueke nearly broke the scoreless draw with ten minutes remaining in the first half with a curling effort that struck the crossbar, but they were unable to convert possession into goals once more. Nicolas Jackson, the centre forward who was back in the starting lineup following an injury, was unable to pose much of a threat as Brentford soaked up everything Chelsea threw at them.
Unnoticed by Chelsea’s defence, Pinnock struck a powerful header from a Mbeumo cross in the 58th minute to surprise the hosts, who had been circling the Bees’ penalty area for most of the game without producing many obvious opportunities.
With 7 minutes added as extra time, the Blues made one last desperate move to possibly get a late equalizer and avoid defeat at home. Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez ventured up for a corner, which the hosts failed to convert and the Brents broke away to get a last minute winner.
The dramatic moment saw Maupay run through on goal with just his teammate Mbeumo alongside him, while Sanchez tried everything to get back to the spot in time. But Maupay was quick enough to lay it off to Mbeumo who slots into an empty goal. The referee ran a quick VAR check for offside, but the goal stood.
Chelsea have been beaten 2-0 at home. For the record, this is also Chelsea’s third straight defeat to Brenford at Stamford Bridge, having lost their previous encounters in this summer in April (0-2) and earlier in April 2022 (1-4).
The hosts had about 70% of ball possession, but failed to get anything out of it. Chelsea now drop to the 11th spot with 12 points, having failed to pick a win in their last two matches. They have now won only one of their last 13 home league games, a dismal run stretching back into last season when they fired managers Thomas Tuchel and then Graham Potter.
Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester City, and Liverpool make up the top four in the league standings with 26, 24, 24, and 23 points respectively, closely followed by Aston Villa in the fifth spot with 22 points.
