Chelsea, without Enzo Fernandez and Mourinho due to injury, suffered their biggest defeat of the season.
Chelsea lost 0-2 to Brentford in the 10th round of the 2023/24 English Premier League (EPL) at Stamford Bridge in London, England, at 8:30 p.m. ET on Aug. 28, thanks to a Pinnock header and a Mbemboom goal.
Ahead of the match, Chelsea revealed their starting lineup. Chelsea lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Jackson starting up front. The second line is Madueke, Palmer, and Sterling. In the third midfield, Cazorla and Gallagher start, while the defense is Colwill-Disassi-Silva-Cucurella and Sanchez is in goal.
Against them, Brentford come with a 3-5-2 formation. Wissa and Mbomo would start up front. Janeldt-Nørgård-Jensen in midfield, and Hickey-Rørsleu on the left and right wingbacks. Collins-Pinochet-Arnier in the back three, and Flecken in goal.
Chelsea had the first chance in the fourth minute. A quick counterattack by Palmer led to Nicholas Jackson crossing to an onrushing Sterling. Sterling linked up with the penetrating Palmer, who played a roving pass back to Sterling but couldn’t connect.
In the ninth minute, Chelsea had another chance. Madueke broke down the flank, saw the far post, and fired a shot that hit the post.
In the 18th minute, another attack came from Palmer’s toes. Picking up the ball in the opposition final third, Palmer played a roving pass to the penetrating Cucurella, who took one touch but his shot went straight at the Flanagan keeper.
A controversial call came in the 23rd minute. Palmer’s cross was met by Sterling, but Lössel pushed him down. Chelsea claimed a PK for Sterling as he went down, but the referee stood by his decision.
The first half ended without much else. The first half was completely owned by Chelsea. Chelsea had 67% of the first half possession to Brentford’s 33%. Chelsea also dominated in shots, 10:2, and had nearly three times the number of passes, 334:136.
However, it was the quality of their finishing that proved to be their undoing. Sterling, Kukurela, and Jackson all had good chances but blew them away, showing that Chelsea need to sign a striker in the January transfer window.
Five minutes into the second half, the 0-0 balance was almost broken. A penetrating Lössel cut back to Yannert, who took one touch before firing a shot that Sanchez pushed away with tremendous reflexes.
A funny moment occurred in the 10th minute of the second half. Chelsea won a free kick on the left flank and Palmer was ready to take it, but Brentford striker Moufei, who was warming up, flicked part of the ball past him. The incident resulted in a yellow card for Moufei, who wasn’t even on the field.
In the 12th minute of the second half, Brentford took the lead. Jensen crossed to an incoming Mbemo, who immediately sent a high cross into the box. Pinnock headed it in to make it 1-0.
After a frustrating attack, Chelsea made a change. They took off Dissah and Madueke and brought on Reece James and Ian Mattesen to bolster their attack.
Unable to break through Brentford’s two-man defense, Chelsea took another risk. Kaysedo and Kukurela were replaced by Ugochukwu and Washington. Washington made his Chelsea debut in this game.
In the 43rd minute, Chelsea missed a great chance to equalize. A penetrating Leicester James crossed to Palmer, who got a foot on it, but the ball went straight to Washington, who couldn’t find the back of the net.
In the 44th minute, Brentford made a huge counter-attack. A counter-attack from a corner led to a four-man run and a shot on goal that Sanchez made a great save on. Shortly afterward, another cross was sent in for Mbemo to take a one-touch shot that went straight into the side netting.
Five minutes into second-half stoppage time, Chelsea struck again, this time on the counterattack. A corner kick was played to Moufei, and with 토토 Sanchez in the opposite goal from the corner, Chelsea’s goal was empty. Mufaye passed the ball to Mbemo, who finished into an unguarded goal to make it 0-2.
This was the end of the game, and despite dominating the game, Chelsea came up empty and eventually dropped back to 11th place.