Frank's Brentford deliver fresh bodyblow to Frank's Blues

Brentford are a club on the rise, beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge for the second season running

Wed, 26 Apr, 2023 - 22:01

Gerry Cox, Stamford Bridge

Premier League: Chelsea 0 Brentford 2 (Azpilicueta Og 37, Mbeumo 78)

IF TODD BOEHLY AND Behdad Eghbali, those self-confessed novices in football, want to see how to run a football club successfully, they need look no farther than half-a-dozen miles down the Great West Road to Brentford.

Thomas Frank used to joke, and their fans still do, that Brentford was just 'a bus stop in Hounslow' before their ascent to the world's premier league two seasons ago.

But they are a club on the rise, beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge for the second season running to keep up their hopes of qualifying for Europe while at the same time killing off Chelsea's lingering chances of even making the Europa Conference League.

An own goal from Cesar Azpilicueta in the first half and a brilliant strike from substitute Bryan Mbeumo after the break were enough to see off Frank Lampard's side, who have scored only one goal in their past seven games.

Mauricio Pochettino is expected to be announced as Chelsea's new manager soon, but not likely to take over until the summer. At this rate, his arrival cannot come soon enough for a club plumbing new depths with each defeat. Brentford's squad cost a fraction of Chelsea's expensive bunch of misfits, some of the best paid players in the country failing to beat the team with the lowest wage bill in the top flight.

Chelsea barely laid a glove on Brentford who did not even need to be on their best form to win.

Thiago Silva brought a simple early save from David Reya with a header that went straight to the Brentford keeper, who then tipped over a piledriver from Enzo Fernandes. That was as hard as it got for the Spaniard, who watched Raheem Sterling shoot over the bar twice in the space of a minute.

As often happens, Chelsea's profligacy proved costly when they fell behind soon afterwards. Mathias Jensen swung in a corner from the left, Zanka leapt to flick on and the ball flew in off the body of Azpilicueta.

It was a body blow for Lampard and Chelsea's supporters, who had been getting increasingly restless, and they showed their displeasure at the sense of desperation when Silva, seeing no sign of a goal from his forwards drilled a long shot well wide.

The half-time whistle brought the customary booing from home supporters, and Lampard responded by sending on Mykhailo Mudryk and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for the second half. The latter gave Chelsea the focal point they have been missing for so long, and went close three times in the opening 15 minutes of the half.

With a more recognisable 3-4-3 shape restored, Chelsea were edging nearer to a goal. Thomas Frank made a triple substitution, sending on Shandon Baptiste, Mikkel Damsgaard and Bryan Mbeumo, who shot over at the end of a counter-attack.

And in the 78th minute, the Frenchman scored a superb second goal to effectively kill off the Blues. He ran from his own half on to an incisive through pass, cut in from the right, went past Wesley Fofana with ease, and smashed a shot high past Arrizabalaga at the near post.

Brentford's fans, still basking in the afterglow of last season's win here, were loving every minute of the misery of their west London rivals.

Pochettino worked wonders at Tottenham and won the French league and cup with Paris St Germain, but he will have a huge job on his hands if he is to get Chelsea back to winning ways.

CHELSEA 3-5-2: Arrizabalaga 6; Fofana 5, Silva 6, Chalobah 6; Azpilicueta 5 (Mudryk 46), Kante 7, Fernandez 5 (Felix 79) Kovacic 5, Chilwell 6; Sterling 5 (Madueke 79), Gallagher 5 (Aubameyang 46)

BRENTFORD 3-5-2: Reya 7; Zanka 7, Pinnock 8, Mee 7; Roerslev 6, Onyeka 6 (Baptiste 62), Janelt 6, Jensen 6 (Damsgaard 62), Henry 7; Toney 6 (Schade 82), Wissa 5 (Mbeumo 62)

Referee: Andrew Madley 8/10