FROM STAMFORD BRIDGE – Chelsea earned a 2-1 win at home to Brentford on Sunday night, but they were made to sweat during a chaotic finish.
Brentford Boss Thomas Frank reportedly came down to the final two candidates when Chelsea went looking for a new manager last summer, eventually losing out to Enzo Maresca. On Sunday at Stamford Bridge, Maresca outplayed Frank again.
Marc Cucurella came equipped with the right footwear this weekend, keeping his composure throughout the evening, but used his bare front to break the deadlock in the 43rd minute.
Moments after Noni Madueke spurned a glorious chance to open the scoring himself, ChelseaThe mercurial winger turned provider. Throwing an inviting ball towards Brentford’s back post, Madueke picked out the unsubtle figure of Cucurella as he crashed into the box.
Cucurella’s effort was one of 15 for Chelsea in the first half, compared to Brentford’s singular effort. Most of those shots were met by a wall of red and white stripes, but the home side had clearer openings after the break.
Nicolas Jackson and Jadon Sancho denied the golden goals just after the hour mark. Sancho had created Jackson’s point-blank foul but could not find a blue shirt after twice deceiving Mark Flekken moments later.
Brentford somehow conspired to miss a glaring chance of their own in the 77th minute. Fabio Carvalho crashed an effort from a handful of yards off the underside of Robert Sanchez’s bar. Barely three minutes had passed before Jackson added a second for the hosts.
Taking advantage of the open space provided by Brentford’s pursuit of an equaliser, Jackson finished with a straight-line surge.
Despite their two-goal advantage, Chelsea still left themselves exposed to a counter-attack in the closing stages. The ever-ready Bryan Mbeumo finally beat Sanchez with an over-the-ball, halving the deficit in the 90th minute to set up a nervy conclusion.
The final whistle had blown, sealing three points for Chelsea, but Cucurella still found time to earn himself an unnecessary red card after getting involved in a brawl after the whistle.
|
player |
Valuation |
|---|---|
|
GC: Robert Sanchez |
8.5/10 |
|
RB: bad flight |
7.7/10 |
|
CB: Tosin Adarabioyo |
7.6/10 |
|
CB: Levi Colwill |
7.2/10 |
|
LB: Marc Cucurella |
7.3/10 |
|
CM: Enzo Fernandez |
7.8/10 |
|
CM: Moises Caicedo |
8.0/10 |
|
CM: Cole Palmer |
7.9/10 |
|
RW: You Maduek |
8.0/10 |
|
ST: Nicholas Jackson |
8.0/10 |
|
LW: Jadon Sancho |
7.8/10 |
|
SUB: Christopher Nkunku (84′ for Jackson) |
N/A |
Subs not used: Filip Jorgensen (GK), Axel Disasi, Josh Acheampong, Renato Veiga, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Sam Rak-Sakyi, Marc Guiu, Tyrique George
|
player |
Valuation |
|---|---|
|
GC: Mark Flecken |
5.8/10 |
|
CB: Sepp van den Berg |
6.7/10 |
|
CB: Nathan Collins |
6.0/10 |
|
CB: Ethan Pinnock |
6.4/10 |
|
RW: Mads Roerslev |
6.4/10 |
|
CM: Yegor Yarmolyuk |
6.9/10 |
|
CM: Christian Norgaard |
7.2/10 |
|
CM: Mikel Damsgaard |
6.0/10 |
|
LWB: Keane Lewis-Potter |
6.6/10 |
|
ST: Bryan Mbeumo |
7.8/10 |
|
ST: Yoane warned |
6.5/10 |
|
SUB: Vitaly Janelt (63′ for Damsgaard) |
6.4/10 |
|
SUB: Kristoffer Ajer (76′ for Roerslev) |
6.4/10 |
|
SUB: Fabio Carvalho (76′ for Damsgaard) |
6.3/10 |
|
SUB: Kevin Schade (76′ for Wissa) |
7.1/10 |
|
SUB: Jayden Meghoma (86′ for Lewis-Potter) |
N/A |
Subs not used: Hákon Rafn Valdimarsson (GK), Ben Mee, Ryan Trevitt, Yunus Emre Konak
