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Here are my three thoughts on Brentford 0, Chelsea 1 in our Game of the Week:
• Édouard Mendy played a blinder. Chelsea fans might as well call this The Édouard Mendy Game. The goalkeeper made six saves, some of them spectacular, as Brentford overwhelmed Chelsea with pressure in the second half. For a team that could win the league, Chelsea has a remarkable propensity to completely lose control of games at certain points. Give plenty of credit for that today to Brentford, which continues to punch above its weight in the Premier League and had a second-half expected goals advantage of 1.80 to 0.02, yet somehow was outscored in that second half 1-0. (The overall xG was Brentford 1.95-0.27 Chelsea.) Brentford had advantages on shots (17-5) and shots on goal (7-1), but goalkeepers can win you games, and that was the case today with Mendy, who has been a significant upgrade on Kepa Arrizabalaga since joining the club last season. The fact that Liverpool got only a point at Brentford, while fellow title-challenger Chelsea got three is not a small thing.
• Chelsea’s 3-5-2 formation has promise, but whither Timo Werner? There’s a lot to like about Thomas Tuchel’s 3-5-2, as we saw again today. Having an extra man in the midfield tends to give Chelsea more control of the game, and tasking Ben Chilwell with a more advanced role puts him in a position to do what he did: Score a terrific goal on the left-footed volley that looked, backspin and all, like a poorer cousin of Benjamin Pavard’s stunner in World Cup 2018. (Though I have to admit it was fortunate for Chelsea that the ball bounced right to Chilwell for the shot after he had been ignored in open space by N’Golo Kanté a few seconds earlier.) The biggest concern about the 3-5-2, however, remains the two up top. Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku still don’t seem to have much chemistry together, and leaving Kai Havertz on the bench for so much of the game seems like a waste. Look, Lukaku is almost always going to start for Chelsea. But Werner? I’m not seeing enough product to justify continued starts in the 3-5-2.
• Thomas Frank’s Brentford is so much fun. I’ve been fascinated by Brentford’s data-driven approach for years and wrote a big story about it in 2015. And now that the Bees have finally made it to the Premier League, their performance so far has been a breath of fresh air. Frank’s team is a whole that’s better than the sum of its parts, and his pressing schemes routinely bear fruit. The results have come with that: League wins at West Ham and Wolves, a home win over Arsenal and a wild 3-3 tie at home with Liverpool. Brentford has every right to think it can stay in the upper half of the Premier League and not even have to worry about spending time in the relegation zone. It’s rare to feel that way about any newly-promoted team in any big European domestic league. For an example of just how hard it can be, look no further than what’s happening with Norwich City. For Brentford to be in my Game of the Week just shows you how far the club has already come.
What are your thoughts on the game? You can share them in the comments below.
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No offense, Grant. You know WAY more about futbol than I ever will. But I think you’re missing a huge point here.
Chelsea won this game minus Rudiger & Thiago Silva. I’m not sure if Brentford’s dominance of the last 15-20 minutes happens with those 2 on the field.
What this game showed me is their squad is really, really deep. Mount and Havertz came off the bench. Jorginho and Alonso had been starting almost every game, and both stayed on the bench for this one. Sure, they were fortunate to survive, and only did because Mendy was BRILLIANT.
And yes, Brentford are a lot of fun to watch. They are *organized*, as you point out. But let’s not lose sight of this game being a lot of Chelsea’s second team.