2 days ago
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As he watched Cole Palmer smash a penalty past Caoimhín Kelleher to secure his first three points at Chelsea, Liam Rosenior may have briefly wondered why such a fuss is made about Premier League management.
The 41-year-old calmly exchanged low fives on the bench with members of his coaching staff before springing to his feet and pointing to his temple, imploring his players to keep their heads and close out the remaining 15 minutes, which they achieved with minimal trouble.
The preceding 75 had been far from straightforward and with better finishing Brentford could have secured at least a point rather than suffering their first defeat in six. The visitors spurned three good chances before João Pedro gave Chelsea the lead with a video assistant referee-assisted goal in the 26th minute and again in the second half, with the game in the balance, until Nathan Collins’s calamitous back-pass led to Kelleher fouling the substitute Liam Delap, with Palmer making no mistake from the spot.
Given Chelsea’s tumultuous start to the year this was one of those games where it was only the result that mattered, which is just as well given elements of their performance. As in Wednesday’s 3-2 defeat by Arsenal in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final, Chelsea looked vulnerable at the back and open in midfield for long periods, but the visitors were unable to take advantage leaving Rosenior celebrating his first Premier League win.
In a sign of the troubled times there was a protest against the club’s ownership, which featured chants in support of Roman Abramovich and, more bizarrely, Enzo Maresca, although it only attracted about 200 fans.
Rather more supporters were concerned at widespread suggestions that Rosenior had rested Palmer and Reece James against Arsenal as knockout competitions are not the owners’ priority, a theory that will have hardened when they were named in the starting lineup here.
Chelsea showed five changes, with Brentford making eight from their FA Cup third-round win against Sheffield Wednesday last week, but there was no immediate sign of the overhaul bringing more freshness and energy.
Chelsea started slowly in a becalmed atmosphere, enabling the visitors to take the initiative. Mathias Jensen twice got in behind Marc Cucurella in the opening exchanges, with one deflected shot bringing a good save from Robert Sánchez. Kevin Schade should have given Brentford the lead in the 21st minute, but opted to square the ball to Mikkel Damsgaard when he was in a good position to shoot, allowing Tosin Adarabioyo to make a scrambled clearance.
Chelsea’s attacking efforts by that stage midway through the first half had been limited to João Pedro appealing for a penalty after slight contact from Michael Kayode. That was waived away by tJohn Brooks in a decision upheld by the VAR, Stuart Attwell.
Chelsea secured a crucial call in their favour from Attwell shortly afterwards, taking the lead against the balance of play with a goal that contained two elements of fortune. Kayode’s clearance was deflected off Enzo Fernández into the path of João Pedro, who beat Kelleher with a smart left-foot finish only to be ruled offside.
A relatively brief review by recent standards established the Brazilian was narrowly onside with the 24-year-old claiming his eighth goal of the season. Brentford spurned two further chances before half-time, with Schade heading wide from Vitaly Janelt’s corner and Jansen hitting the post with a left-foot volley. They survived a major let-off themselves with Alejandro Garnacho shooting wide at the far post from Neto’s cross when Kelleher was beaten.
The second half followed a similar pattern, Igor Thiago missing a good chance with a header, before Collins’s shocking pass to Kelleher ended the contest. The Northern Ireland goalkeeper did his best to salvage the situation, but clearly caught Delap as he stretched to clear his penalty area and could do nothing to stop Palmer’s spot kick.
Chelsea’s first win in six Premier League games was sorely needed, both to keep them on Manchester United’s heels in the Champions League qualification race after their impressive win over City and to build faith among players in fans in Rosenior’s methods.
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