London: Brentfordsnatched a2-0winawayatChelseaon Saturday as the expensively assembled Blues failed to turn possession into goals once again and were punished by a thumping header from defender Ethan Pinnock and a last-minute breakaway goal by Bryan Mbeumo.
The west London derby defeat was yet another setback forChelseacoach Mauricio Pochettino, whose side had shown signs of putting a poor start to the season behind them recently with twowinsout of three and a2-2draw against Arsenal last weekend.
“The frustration is so massive,” Pochettino told talkSPORT radio, saying a strong first-half performance gave way to a lack of calm after the break.
“We are doing our job, we are happy here,” the Argentine said. “We need to be clinical and score more goals. This is what is missing… We need to keep believing.”
Chelseastarted on the front foot but for all their buzzing around Brentford’s penalty area, they created few chances before Pinnock, undetected byChelsea’s defence, connected powerfully with an Mbeumo crossinthe 58th minute.
The Blues poured forwardinsearch of an equalizer butinthe 96th minute goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, venturing up for a corner, was caught out when the visitors broke away and Mbeumo rolled the ball into an empty net.
Chelseahave now won only one of their last 13 home league games, a dismal run stretching back into last season when they fired managers Thomas Tuchel and then Graham Potter.
Blues winger Noni Madueke almost broke the deadlockinthe first half when his curling shot hit the crossbar with 10 minutes on the clock. Defender Marc Cucurella shot straightatMark Flekken after a lofted pass by playmaker Cole Palmer.
ButBrentfordsoaked up everythingChelseacould throwatthem with centre forward Nicolas Jackson, backinthe starting 11 after an injury, unable to provide much of a threat.
Brentford’s third leaguewinatStamford Bridgeinas many seasons meant that they leap-frogged their neighbours into 10th spot, whileChelseadropped to 11th ahead of the rest of the weekend’s fixtures.
The latest failure to find the back of the net will intensify speculation thatChelseawill invest heavily againinthe January transfer window, having already spent around1billion pounds on new players since a U.S.-led takeoverin2022.
One name linked to the club isBrentfordand England centre forward Ivan Toney who scored 20 timesinthe league last season but who is currently serving an eight-month ban for breaching betting rules. That ban expiresinJanuary.
(Published 28 October 2023, 15:38 IST)