Chelsea 2 Brentford 0
The score line doesn’t reflect the game. Brentford fans will be wondering how their team hasn’t come away from Stamford Bridge with at least a point after creating numerous clear-cut chances to score but they couldn’t take them. Kevin Schade in particular could have had a hat-trick on the day but was so indecisive in his final action whether it was passing instead of shooting or finishing poorly his end product cost Brentford today. Chelsea as well missed chances in particular Garnacho missing an open net after some brilliant play from Pedro Neto down the wing crossing perfectly for Garnacho who just had to get the ball on target to score but blasted it wide. The Chelsea fans won’t care but their was some worrying signs in this performance which Liam Rosenior will look to iron out before next week.
There’s gonna be teething problems for Liam Rosenior. I think it goes without saying but its gonna take a while before we see this Chelsea team’s identity under Liam Rosenior, with Chelsea still in 4 competitions the lack of training time will be annoying for Rosenior as he’d like to get his ideas into the players on the training ground but I’m sure he’s happy to get off to a winning start in the league as Chelsea had gone 5 games in the league without a win. Rosenior can thank Robert Sanchez for the 3 points today as without his massive saves Brentford probably would have at least came away with a point which was probably the least they deserved on the day.
What is going on with Cole Palmer? This season has been a real struggle for Cole Palmer so far whether it’s injury struggles or lack of form he can’t build a run of good performances in this Chelsea team. He looked miles off it in this game and didn’t even celebrate after his goal from the penalty spot which makes me think there has to be something going on behind the scenes whether it’s an injury or something else that he’s dealing with. He’s just not playing at the level we know he’s capable of at the minute and Chelsea will be hoping that this changes over the next few weeks and we see the best of Palmer again in a Chelsea shirt.
Brentford continue to look good under Keith Andrews. The score line makes it look like a comfortable win for Chelsea but Brentford looked so good in this game for large portions of the match. Before the season I had Brentford in the relegation spots following the departures of Thomas Frank, Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo but Brentford have actually improved under Keith Andrews and you have to give him massive credit for the way he has this Brentford team playing. Giving players like Igor Thiago, Kevin Schade and Mikel Damsgaard the platform to succeed and play their best football is paying off massively for Brentford and you wonder if he snatch an unlikely European spot with this Brentford side.
Can Rosenior bring success to Chelsea? I suppose it depends what you deem as success but I think the goal for Rosenior this season will be top 4/5 and maybe a cup, the Carabao Cup will be tough following the first leg defeat to Arsenal at home but maybe the FA Cup will be a goal for this Chelsea team as they can beat anyone on their day as we’ve already seen this season. Every team in and around Chelsea is so inconsistent whether it’s Liverpool, Man United, Newcastle etc so it’s really anyone’s to take this year if they can find a consistent run of form in the league. Rosenior will now hope he can find a run of good performances to solidify Chelsea in those Champions League spots that the Chelsea ownership will be needing from him no doubt.