Chelsea 0-2 Brentford: Player ratings as Bees continue Blues‘ misery
FROM STAMFORD BRIDGE – Frank Lampard has now lost all five of his games in caretaker charge of Chelsea after they were beaten 2-0 by Brentford on Wednesday.
The Bees ran out resounding 4-1 winners on their last trip to Stamford Bridge and managed to snap a run of five games without a victory with another gutsy performance.
Frank Lampard’s side remain mired in 11th place and are six points off the top half, while Brentford are now the top club in west London after moving above Fulham into ninth.
After an extremely tepid opening 23 minutes, Chelsea managed to carve out a half-chance. A cross from N’Golo Kante was headed downwards by Thiago Silva, but it was comfortable for David Raya.
Brentford had a similar opportunity at the other end soon after when Mathias Jensen found the leaping Ben Mee, but the former Burnley man couldn’t keep his balance when heading the ball and the hosts got away with some sloppy marking.
Chelsea then managed to work an opening down the right through Wesley Fofana and Kante, with the latter pulling the ball back for Enzo Fernandez to strike down the throat of Raya.
The Bees were restricting their hosts mainly to long shots and speculative efforts as Kante and Raheem Sterling both fired high and wide out of frustrating after the half-hour mark.
Shortly before the break, Brentford found themselves ahead. Mathias Jensen’s corner was flicked on by Zanka and deflected off the arm of Cesar Azpilicueta, with the ball bouncing between Kepa Arrizabalaga and Fofana at the far post.
Lampard responded at half-time by throwing Mykhailo Mudryk and forgotten man Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on, promptly ending his weird experiment with Conor Gallagher up front.
Kante flashed a shot just wide of Raya’s goal just after the break to finally get the Stamford Bridge crowd on their feet.
Mateo Kovacic’s switch of play was headed on by Sterling and into the path of Aubameyang, who rose above Raya but couldn’t keep his header down.
Brentford were really under the cosh and were thankful that a header from Silva bounced mercifully wide after a wicked free-kick delivery from Mudryk.
Another Chelsea chance came and went when Kovacic slipped through Aubameyang, but his shot was blocked by Ethan Pinnock and Raya was able to keep it out.
With the game entering the final 15 minutes though, Brentford hit Chelsea on the break and added a second. Shandon Baptiste’s long ball forward found Bryan Mbeumo, who dribbled his way into the box and lashed a shot past Kepa courtesy of a deflection off Silva.
The visitors went close to adding a third late on when a long throw fell to Pinnock, but his half-volley sailed narrowly over.
Stamford Bridge quickly began to empty as the travelling fans danced on the steep concourses of a once formidable stadium.
Here are your player ratings from west London…
GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga – 5/10 – Harsh to lay all the blame of Azpilicueta’s own goal at the goalkeeper’s doorstep but his indecision certainly didn’t help.
CB: Wesley Fofana – 5/10 – Similarly dawdling for the opener but easily snuffed out Brentford’s chances in open play at least.
CB: Thiago Silva – 5/10 – Didn’t allow himself to be beaten easily by Toney.
CB: Trevoh Chalobah – 6/10 – Likewise defended with confidence, Chelsea’s problem isn’t their backline.
RM: Cesar Azpilicueta – 4/10 – Spent the first half crossing into the stands and was hooked at the interval.
CM: N’Golo Kante – 5/10 – Wriggled his way past Brentford defenders and dutifully won the ball back.
CM: Enzo Fernandez – 5/10 – Won possession and retained it without being too inventive on this occasion.
CM: Mateo Kovacic – 5/10 – The creator of the Blues‘ best open play chances, though the bar was low.
LM: Ben Chilwell – 5/10 – Had the beating of Roerslev early on but made very little of his clear technical dominance on that flank.
CF: Conor Gallagher – 5/10 – Quite obviously not a striker, though dug in and tried his best before being withdrawn at the break.
CF: Raheem Sterling – 5/10 – Looked far more lively when shifted to the wing, but the final ball was lacking.
Substitutes
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (46′ for Azpilicueta) – 5/10 – Clearly lacking sharpness but put himself about and should have been reintegrated into the team long ago.
Mykhailo Mudryk (46′ for Gallagher) – 5/10 – Like Sterling troubled Brentford with his pace but little else.
Joao Felix (79′ for Fernandez) – N/A
Noni Madueke (79′ for Sterling) – N/A
Manager
Frank Lampard – 3/10 – Clearly underqualified and out of his depth. Again.
GK: David Raya – 6/10 – Rarely troubled despite Chelsea’s pressure.
CB: Zanka – 8/10 – A monster at the back and vital in the lead up to the opener, pivotal at both ends.
CB: Ethan Pinnock – 8/10 – Another evening of sweeping up the danger with ease for the man mountain.
CB: Ben Mee – 8/10 – Completely untroubled all night long.
RM: Mads Roerslev – 6/10 – Unadventurous with the ball and despite some scares against Mudryk managed to pin down the threat on his side.
CM: Frank Onyeka – 5/10 – Shifted between the shuttler and holding roles with Janelt, though didn’t particularly succeed at either.
CM: Vitaly Janelt – 7/10 – Far more suited to playing the six than Onyeka, breaking up play and clearing with confidence.
CM: Mathias Jensen – 6/10 – Took the corner which led to the opener but wasn’t as useful from open play.
LM: Rico Henry – 6/10 – Twisted inside-out by Sterling on one occasion but that was the only trouble he had.
CF: Ivan Toney – 5/10 – Useful when Brentford played it long but his threat was largely nullified.
CF: Yoane Wissa – 5/10 – Looked to break in behind the defence with his pace and trickery but was often thwarted by Fofana.
Substitutes
Shandon Baptiste (62′ for Jensen) – 7/10
Bryan Mbeumo (62′ for Wissa) – 8/10
Mikkel Damsgaard (62′ for Onyeka) – 6/10
Kevin Schade (82′ for Toney) – N/A
Aaron Hickey (90′ for Henry) – N/A
Manager
Thomas Frank – 7/10 – Brentford stuck to their gameplan to frustrate a down-and-out Chelsea.