Chelsea’s early-season struggles deepen as Brentford inflict 3-0 defeat

Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso faces a three-week international-break rebuild after his side were beaten 3-0 by Brentford on Friday and conceded 12 goals in their opening five Premier League matches.

Chelsea had started the campaign with victories against Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion, leading to suggestions that Alonso could turn the club into title contenders after arriving at Stamford Bridge in July.

However, their defensive weaknesses were already apparent, with five goals conceded across those two wins. A 2-1 loss at Arsenal was followed by a 2-2 home draw with Hull City last weekend before Brentford inflicted the heaviest blow yet to Alonso’s early reign.

The former Spain international said Chelsea had struggled to maintain concentration across matches and called for greater consistency and determination from his players.

“It’s about 95 minutes. We have not been able to keep that level throughout these few games in the start of the season, and it’s something that we have to do better,” Alonso told reporters.

“We know that it’s a process, that it’s still (only) five games, and in a competitive Premier League, that each game is really hard.”

Chelsea’s next fixture is at home to Bournemouth on October 10, giving Alonso time to assess his squad and hope for positive updates from the club’s medical team.

Midfielder Moises Caicedo, whose usual role includes protecting the defence, has played only 14 minutes this season. Italy defender Marco Palestra, who joined Chelsea in the summer, has yet to make an appearance for the club.

Brazil striker Joao Pedro, who had been in good form, was also absent from Friday’s squad.

Even so, Brentford’s control after half-time will raise questions about the rest of Chelsea’s expensively assembled team. The sides were level at 0-0 at the interval, but the visitors were largely outplayed during the second half.

Jaidon Anthony opened the scoring before Igor Thiago added a second. Substitute Fabio Carvalho completed the victory for Brentford, who have continued to improve since Keith Andrews became coach in 2025 and remain unbeaten this season.

Andrews said he had sensed that his team were ready to produce a strong display.

“I felt there was a performance bubbling. I just could see that in the players’ eyes last couple of days,” he told reporters.

“The approach has been really focused and I thought in the second half in particular we showed exactly what we are.”