Before Brentford came to Stamford Bridge, only Manchester City had left victorious during the 2021/22 Premier League season, and they had conceded ten times at home in 13 matches. That record was laid to rest as Brentford scored four second half goals to record a memorable win. The Bees fell behind early in the second half but roared back to win 4-1 on a never-to-be-forgotten West London afternoon.
The final score probably does even tell the full story. Brentford were well worth a three-goal win and could arguably have scored even more, so fine was their attacking performance. Vitaly Janelt got two of the goals and Christian Eriksen scored as well. Yoane Wissa came off the substitute’s bench to add the fourth.
All the goals came in a thrilling second half, but the first was almost as entertaining. Brentford dominated the early stages without finding a way through and then had to defend well at the end of the half. The Bees fell behind to a long range strike from Antonio Rüdiger that may end up being forgotten but was the best of the afternoon. They levelled within seconds and never looked back, beating the team that currently hold the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA World Club Cup.
Brentford made a great start to the game and had much the better of the opening exchanges. Eriksen saw a lot of the ball in the centre of midfield and linked effectively with Janelt and Christian Nørgaard in the middle of the pitch. Mads Roerslev and Rico Henry offered support from wing back and Brentford played on the front foot.
The Bees had the first effort when Eriksen curled a free kick over from 25 yards and Brentford created chances both in open play and from set pieces. They were solid without the ball and looked to break quickly when they could. In the first 15 minutes, there were a series of chances for the visitors as Chelsea were forced to defend.
Bryan Mbeumo stormed up the pitch on the counter-attack and looked to find Ivan Toney at the far post, but the ball was just too firm. Toney recovered possession and found Eriksen in the penalty area, but he was crowded out. Chelsea tried to play out but a poor pass from goalkeeper Édouard Mendy gave Toney possession on the right side of the penalty area. Toney tried to lift the ball back over Mendy in to the net but was a fraction heavy with his effort.
Mendy saved from Toney at the near post and was on the end of another great move soon after. Roerslev, Janelt, Mbeumo and Eriksen were all involved to create space on the left for Henry. His cross was met by Toney with a header, but he could only loop it on to the roof of the net under pressure from Rüdiger.
There was still time in the opening 15 minutes for Toney to flick on a corner to the far post, but the header from Kristoffer Ajer deflected wide. A break in play to allow Mendy to get treatment gave Chelsea time to regroup and they saw a lot more of the ball in the rest of the half. N’Golo Kanté was busier in midfield and was able to work with the ball as well as without it. Mason Mount fired wide from 20 yards and was increasingly influential in the inside right channel.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek strode from midfield before firing straight at David Raya. Mount then fired low at Raya when he was picked out by a delightful Kanté pass. Rüdiger smashed a shot well wide from distance before Mount found Hakim Ziyech on the left and he cut inside before letting fly with an effort that Raya had to tip over the crossbar.
Chelsea ended the first half in the ascendency and almost grabbed the lead at the end of it. Raya came to meet an inswinging corner under pressure from Kai Havertz. The ball looped up and Marcos Alonso had a header deflect on to the roof of the net. Brentford cleared the resulting corner and got to the break level.
The first half had been entertaining and fiercely