Brentford beat Chelsea 3-0 on Friday evening, handing Keith Andrews' side their first-ever Premier League home victory over the Blues and sending Chelsea into the international break without a win in three league games. Goals from Jaidon Anthony, Igor Thiago and Fabio Carvalho — all scored in the second half — completed a dominant display from the hosts, while Chelsea's defensive record grew yet more alarming.
The first half passed without a goal, but Brentford took the lead in the 61st minute when a corner from Mikkel Damsgaard was headed on by Jannik Schuster and Anthony, left unmarked at close range, nodded home. It was the fifth goal Chelsea have conceded from a set-piece this season, and their 22nd successive Premier League game without a clean sheet.
Igor Thiago, who had gone the entire season without a Premier League goal before Friday, doubled the lead with nine minutes remaining. Damsgaard picked out Kevin Schade on the break, Emiliano Martínez saved his effort, and Thiago guided the rebound inside the post. Carvalho wrapped up the scoring in stoppage time, slamming in a low cross from Schade, who had been left unmarked on the left after a long throw was half-cleared. Chelsea have now conceded 12 goals in five Premier League games — more than any other side in the division.
Xabi Alonso was blunt in his post-match assessment. "I'm disappointed at the end with the second half and the result. This is not enough to compete in the Premier League, not to be able to go for the 90 minutes. This is why today we were punished. At the moment, we are not being consistent enough to compete during the whole game – 45 [minutes] is not enough, you need to play the whole game knowing each detail is important and each action can be decisive. We dropped our consistency, and our competitive mentality needed in the second half. It's about 95 minutes, and we have not been able to keep that level throughout these few games in the start of the season. It's something that we'll have to do better," Alonso said.
Skipper on the night Levi Colwill was equally downbeat, telling Sky Sports that Chelsea had been bullied in the box and that improvement was needed, adding that the group retained full trust in their set-piece coach while still adjusting to new ideas.
Former Chelsea centre-back Gary Cahill, speaking as a pundit on Sky Sports, described his former club as showing a certain element of fragility, suggesting that once a set-piece goal went in, a damaging mindset took hold. He called on Alonso to use the international break to address the issues on the training ground, warning that there was a softness to the manner in which the side were conceding. Set-piece coach Austin MacPhee, brought to the club specifically to improve Chelsea at dead balls, watched on as his side were caught out from a corner for the opener.
Jordan Henderson made his full debut for Chelsea at his former club, playing the full 90 minutes. He was loudly booed by the home supporters with every touch, though he was considered one of the few bright spots for the visitors, particularly in the first half. Alonso was without Joao Pedro and Reece James for the match.
For Andrews, the mood was considerably lighter. Brentford moved up to third in the table with the result, their unbeaten start to the season intact, while Chelsea sit seventh on seven points, already five points off the top of the table.
Reporting: Mirror, Football.London, Daily Mail, ESPN, Sky Sports, Evening Standard, BBC Sport, CaughtOffside, The Sun, talkSPORT, GiveMeSport, The Guardian, RTÉ.