Brentford punish reshaped Chelsea with three-goal second-half surge

Brentford scored three times after the interval to beat a heavily changed Chelsea side 3-0 at the Gtech Community Stadium on Friday evening.

Jaidon Anthony, Igor Thiago and Fabio Carvalho were all on target as Thomas Frank’s team secured victory before the international break. The result gave Chelsea their first defeat of the season at Brentford’s home ground.

The hosts were second best for much of the opening 45 minutes, but changed the game after half-time. Anthony opened the scoring on 61 minutes with a close-range header, Thiago struck on the counter-attack in the 83rd minute and Carvalho completed the win in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso made five changes to his starting line-up, including a debut for Jordan Henderson and Premier League starts for Pep Chavarria, Valentin Barco, Danny Welbeck and Maxence Lacroix. Reece James and Joao Pedro were both sidelined.

Chavarria provided Chelsea’s main threat in the early stages from the left. His work created an opportunity for Pedro Neto, whose first-time shot was turned away by Caoimhin Kelleher.

Morgan Rogers went close before the break when his effort, produced after a neat exchange with Cole Palmer, was deflected wide by Jannik Schuster.

Brentford emerged with much greater energy after half-time and took advantage in the 61st minute. Mikkel Damsgaard’s corner was flicked across the face of goal by Schuster, leaving Anthony unmarked to head beyond Kelleher.

Chelsea tried to respond and applied sustained pressure in the Brentford penalty area. Five shots were blocked between the 66th and 80th minutes as the visitors struggled to find a clear route through a crowded defence.

Barco also appealed for a penalty during that spell, but the claim was turned down.

Brentford remained a threat whenever Chelsea committed players forward and made the most of the space late in the match. Kevin Schade broke clear on a counter-attack and, although Emi Martinez stopped his first attempt, Thiago followed up to score from the rebound and make it 2-0.

Schade was involved again for the final goal in the 94th minute. His cross took a deflection and reached the back post, where Carvalho finished to complete a decisive second-half performance from the hosts.

Scorers: Anthony (61 minutes), Thiago (83), Carvalho (90+4).