Chelsea moved within two points of the Premier League top, narrowly beating Brentford 2-1 to make it four league wins in a row for Enzo Maresca’s surprise title challengers.
Having lost their last three PL matches at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea needed to end that run to close the gap on league leaders Liverpool. The Blues started well, with Nicolas Jackson heading just over the bar and Cole Palmer forcing goalkeeper Mark Flekken into a save. Chelsea dominated the first half but were grateful to Levi Colwill for a crucial block to deny Mikkel Damsgaard a goal midway through.
That was one of the few attacks from Brentford, who eventually conceded when Chelsea’s 21st cross of the match (six more than their average) led to the first goal just before half-time. Marc Cucurella, who had never scored for Chelsea in the PL, made a brilliant diving header from Noni Madueke’s cross, breaking his goal drought.
After the break, Chelsea continued to press, with Brentford struggling to keep up. It looked like a second goal was coming when Jadon Sancho crossed to Jackson, but the Chelsea forward missed the chance from a great position, sending the ball over the bar.
Robert Sánchez, who had little to do during the game, then made an amazing one-handed save to deny Christian Nørgaard’s volley, and soon after, substitute Fábio Carvalho hit the crossbar from close range. Just when Brentford seemed to be gaining momentum, Jackson made up for his earlier miss by scoring a well-taken near-post goal following a quick counterattack.
Brentford did manage to score in the 90th minute, when Bryan Mbuemo got in behind the Chelsea defence and slotted home, but it was too late for any comeback, and Chelsea held on for the win.
The match ended in controversy, however, with Cucurella receiving a red card after the final whistle. Despite that, Chelsea now have the chance to move top of the PL table before Liverpool play next, though they must beat Everton next Sunday to do so. Brentford, on the other hand, are still without a PL away win (D1, L7) and have the second-worst away record in the league, with their strong home form (W7, D1) the only thing keeping them afloat.
