A disappointing performance from Chelsea’s Blues, who thought they had secured a hard-fought win, only to be caught by Brentford’s Bees in the final minute.
Enzo Maresca seemed to have addressed one of last season’s issues by rotating his squad. Out went Palmer, Cucurella, and captain Reece James, making way for an experimental lineup featuring the debut of new signing Buonanotte and Fofana (his first start since March 16).
It didn’t pay off, as Chelsea delivered a rather sluggish first half. While they dominated possession with 70%, their passing was slow, and the forwards were starved of service. Buonanotte was rarely involved, and Joao Pedro had to drop outside the box just to touch the ball. In these situations, the opponent often finds space on the counter, which proved true when Kevin Schade made a run and found himself one-on-one with Tosin. Brentford struck first on that lightning-fast counter, planting doubt in Chelsea’s minds.
The second half saw changes from Enzo Maresca. James, Cucurella, George, and Palmer came on, completely changing the team’s rhythm.
It was Palmer who leveled the score at 1-1 with a clever side-footed finish.
After that, Brentford found themselves pinned back by a much sharper Chelsea, and Caicedo put the Blues ahead 2-1.
Just when it seemed Chelsea would leave West London with all three points and the temporary top spot, Brentford equalized from a throw-in through a Fabio Carvalho goal.
Chelsea let two points slip away and may now see Liverpool pull four points clear at the top of the table.