Brentford – Chelsea: Bees Sting Blues To Hand Xabi Alonso Heavy Away Defeat (3-0)

Brentford defeated Chelsea 3-0 at the Gtech to hand Xabi Alonso & his Chelsea side their second defeat of the season. Goals from Jaidon Anthony, Igor Thiago and Fabio Carvalho sank the Blues as they left the Gtech without any points.

Tactical analysis and match report by Gaurav Krishnan.

It was a harsh welcome to the Premier League for Xabi Alonso at the Gtech. If Alonso rode his luck with his front three firing and bailing out Chelsea’s defensive frailties by scoring more, this was a game where that didn’t happen. This latest heavy defeat inflicted by Brentford served as another pointed reminder that Chelsea remain very much in the early stages of their rebuild under Xabi Alonso. Against a Premier League opponent as intelligent and meticulously coached as Keith Andrews’ side, the visitors possessed almost no margin for error, something we’ve come to expect in the highly competitive Premier League.

The attacking fluency that had characterised Chelsea’s opening fixtures did not survive the absence of Joao Pedro as Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers never found the same combination behind Danny Welbeck that they had enjoyed with the Brazilian leading the line. The midfield, missing Moises Caicedo’s physical presence and coverage to shield the backline, could not sustain control or protection across a full 90 minutes. While Reece James’ unavailability, by now a familiar feature of Chelsea seasons, was felt both in the right-wing-back slot, midfield and in the overall balance of the back three. Several of Alonso’s in-game decisions indicated he is still searching for the combinations and alignments that will hold under Premier . . .