In the west London derby at Stamford Bridge, goals from Ethan Pinnock and Bryan Mbeumo condemned a wasteful Chelsea, as Brentford hung on for their third Premier League victory of the year.
Pinnock’s thunderous header from Mbeumo’s devious cross punished the Blues, who had 17 shots to Brentford’s 7.
Neal Maupay spearheaded a counterattack by Brentford and put up Mbeumo for the second goal, with Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez moving up the field for a late corner.
Due to some subpar finishing, Chelsea, who had the best chance in the first half when Noni Madueke struck the post, lost at home for the ninth time this year.
The visitors defended with determination before surprising Chelsea with a break, and Brentford keeper Mark Flekken was never really tested.
With the win, Brentford moved up to 10th place in the standings, one spot and point ahead of Chelsea.
Stinging brilliant bees With Chelsea
As a Premier League team, Brentford has triumphed at Stamford Bridge on each of its three occasions. Despite Chelsea’s superiority, Brentford managed to generate a good number of scoring opportunities.
Shortly after the break, Mathias Jensen found space down the right and cut the ball back to Vitaly Janelt, who aimed his effort squarely at Sanchez.
Down the right, Pinnock raced to meet a brilliant, pacy pass from Mbeumo with a strong header, setting up Brentford’s goal.
During the intermission, Yegor Yarmolyuk scored a clear goal after Sanchez stopped him, and Mbeumo missed a close shot.
With only Sanchez in close proximity, Mbeumo knocked the ball into an empty net to give Thomas Frank’s team a second goal.
Brentford has now won two straight games and extended their unbeaten streak in London derbies to 13 games after a poor start to the season.
Blues at the Bridge are wasteful.
Chelsea under Mauricio Pochettino still hasn’t found their footing.
They started out cutting through at will against Brentford, a team that is frequently commended for their organization and defensive rigor. In the opening ten minutes, Madueke curled a shot against the post.
Midway through the first half, Cole Palmer looked brilliant and crossed for an unmarked Marc Cucurella, but his first-time effort was straight at Flekken.
Chelsea’s wastefulness became more evident after the restart, as they failed to muster a shot on goal during the second half.
Chelsea has only triumphed at home in the league since February against newly promoted Luton this season and relegated Leeds last season and has conceded goals in four of their ten games this year.
Brentford plays West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday, while Chelsea hosts Blackburn in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.