2 April 3, 2022The Sunday TimesFootball Premier League
All the best fairytales are Danish. Ten
months ago, Christian Eriksen nearly
died on a football pitch. Here, in this
remarkable win, he scored the crucial
second goal for Brentford, concluding
an incredible week in which he also
scored twice on his return to the Den-
mark team.
Brentford had not beaten Chelsea
since 1939, and it hardly looked likely
when Antonio Rüdiger opened the
scoring with a thunderbolt. But there-
after Chelsea simply imploded, and
Brentford were lavishly rewarded for
their ferocious and cohesive football.
Chelsea’s defence — which con-
ceded only six goals in the first 14
games of the season — struggled all day
with the threat of Brentford’s front
two, Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo,
who pressed voraciously, led light-
ning-fast counters and passed the ball
with subtlety and timing.
They assisted the first three goals,
with Mbeumo laying on the goal for
Eriksen. For Thomas Tuchel’s team,
who also conceded a fourth late on to
the substitute Yoane Wissa, it was a
staggering meltdown reminiscent of
their 5-2 loss against West Bromwich
Albion last season.
“The goal [from Rüdiger] was
exactly what we wanted to open up
new spaces, and actually the opposite
happened. I don’t know why,” Tuchel
said.
“Once we had it, we stopped
defending and gave them three goals
in ten minutes, which is very untypi-
cal and killed the game for us. From
there, we did not defend maturely
enough and we were not aware of thequickly, with Mbeumo, just inside the
box, sliding a lateral pass to Vitaly Jan-
elt, who hit a crisp, confident, first-
time strike that sent the ball rising into
the high corner of the net.
Chelsea had a chance to retake the
lead through Timo Werner, played in
by Mount’s through-ball, but his first
touch was uncertain and allowed
Kristoffer Ajer time to slide in to block
the shot. Brentford quickly went up
the other end and took the lead. They
broke at pace, Mbeumo drawing three
defenders with him before squaring
the ball for Eriksen, who lifted it deli-
cately over Mendy.
Chelsea were discombobulated,
and Brentford soon added a third.
They worked a neat triangle on the
left, and Toney played a perfectly
timed pass for Janelt, who got the run
on Rüdiger and beat Mendy with a
beautiful chip from a tight angle.
Chelsea had chances to get back
into the game, most of them falling to
Kai Havertz. He poked the ball into the
net from a free kick, but had handled
in the act of bringing it under control,
then headed just wide from Ziyech’s
cross. Mateo Kovacic, on as a substi-
tute, hit a rising shot over. But instead
Brentford added a barely believable
gloss to the scoreline, Wissa firing in
after Rüdiger had failed to clear the
ball from a set piece.
Chelsea face Real Madrid in the
Champions League on Wednesday. “I
refuse to make a drama of it,” Tuchel
said. “Brentford made a lot of the ten
minutes we gave them. We will refocus
on Monday.”
Brentford, who were on a run of
seven defeats in eight games a month
ago and in genuine danger of relega-
tion, are now 11 points clear of the bot-
tom three and surely safe. The signing
of Eriksen has been transformative,
and provided a genuinely inspiring
and uplifting story.ERIKSEN STUNS CHELSEA
danger in these moments. We got pun-
ished, they made the most of it. It’s on
us, it’s our fault.”
The away side had started quickly.
They created several opportunities in
a shaky opening for Chelsea. First, as
Chelsea tried to play out, Édouard
Mendy, under pressure from
Mbeumo, got an attempted pass to
Rüdiger all wrong and presented the
ball straight to Toney, who tried a diffi-
cult first-time chip and floated the ball
over the bar.
Brentford continued to pose prob-
lems. A cross from the right was
moved on to Toney, on the left edge of
the box, and his low shot would have
crept in at Mendy’s near post had the
goalkeeper not got down well. In an
extremely lively start, Toney then got
on the end of yet another chance,
hanging beautifully at the back post to
meet Rico Henry’s cross but failing to
keep the header down.
The game settled down, with Chel-
sea finding ways through the Brent-
ford press. Ruben Loftus-Cheek
embarked on a neat, shimmying run
on the edge of the box and unleashed a
shot that was comfortably handled by
David Raya. N’Golo Kanté clipped a
diagonal pass to Mason Mount, who
didn’t quite catch the volley sweetly
enough to trouble Raya. The first Chel-
sea shot of real venom came from
Hakim Ziyech. Receiving a pass from
Mount on the right, he let fly, and Raya
reacted quickly to tip the ball over.
That fairly humdrum first half was
followed by an extraordinary start to
the second period. First, Rüdiger
picked the ball up 30 yards out, took a
touch to get the ball out of his feet,
then walloped an absolutely unstop-
pable shot that swerved in the air and
kissed the inside of the left-hand post
on its way into the net.
Rüdiger, who is out of contract in
the summer and has been linked withStar man Vitaly Janelt (Brentford).
Substitutes: Chelsea R James (for Alonso 55min,
6), R Lukaku (for Kanté 65, 6), M Kovacic (for
Werner 64, 6).
Brentford S Canós (for Henry 88), M Jenses (for
Janelt 82), Y Wissa (for Mbeumo 85).
Referee A Madley.
Attendance 39,061.Raya7Pinnock(^7) Roerslev
7
Henry
8
Ajer
7
Jansson
7
Eriksen
8
Janelt
9
Nørgaard
7
To n e y
8
Mbeumo
9
5-3-2
Mendy
5
Silva
5
Alonso
4
Azpilicueta
5
Werner
5
Ziyech
6
Loftus-Cheek
5
Havertz
6
Rüdiger
6
Kanté
6
Mount
6
4-3-3
a move away, celebrated jubilantly,
running into the arms of Tuchel, then
planting a kiss on the Stamford Bridge
turf.
Somehow, the goal seemed to com-
pletely alter the game. Two minutes
later, Brentford equalised. They coun-
ter-pressed, won the ball and moved it
14
CHELSEA BRENTFORD
Rüdiger 48
Janelt 50, 60
Eriksen 54
Wissa 87
CHELSEA FANS PROTEST AGAINST RICKETTS BID
Chelsea supporters
protested outside
Stamford Bridge
before yesterday’s
defeat by Brentford
against the attempt by
the Ricketts family to
buy the club off Roman
Abramovich. They
were protesting about
comments made by
Joe Ricketts who called
Muslims “my enemy” in
leaked emails from
- Ricketts is the
father of Tom Ricketts,
who is fronting the bid.
Tom Ricketts, the
Chicago Cubs co-
chairman, sought to
head off supporter
unrest yesterday
by declaring
an “absolute
commitment” to
diversity and inclusion
in his family’s bid to
buy Chelsea. Although
Joe Ricketts has no role
at the Cubs or in the
bid to buy Chelsea,
fans have united
against their bid.
Tom Ricketts
confirmed meetingswith Chelsea
Supporters’ Trust (CST)
and pledged to sit
down with more fans to
prove his family’s
suitability to take over
the club. The CST
issued a statement
yesterday, insisting
that their membership
“neither supports nor
has confidence in” the
Ricketts family’s bid.25
Years since
Chelsea lost a
London derby
by at least three
goals in the
league — 3-0,
against ArsenalTHE GAFFER TAPES WHAT THE MANAGERS SAID
THOMAS TUCHEL
After so many wins and so many
good results, I will now refuse to
make a drama out of it... why
should we? Brentford made a lot of
the ten minutes we gave them. After
the third goal, we had a disallowed
goal, a pressing situation against
the goalkeeper, and another big
chance from Kai Havertz. We missed
all three of them and there was a
feeling that it wasn’t our day. I don’t
know why that has happened. We
gave a big chance straight away
after our goal, and then the next
one was a goal.THOMAS FRANK
I would say that we timed it
perfectly to score at that end four
goals in front of our fans. That
made it even more special. In
football you work so hard so many
hours, every day, month, year. A lot
of time maybe you don’t feel you
get the rewards. But today
everything clicked and managed
to be part of a team of fantastic
players and staff members. And
winning here at Stamford Bridge
against the European champions is
huge. Normally they defend
unbelievably well.Chelsea supporters
gathered and held up
anti-Ricketts signs
at Stamford BridgeJAMES
GHEERBRANT