Match Report: Chelsea frustrated by late equaliser in 2-2 draw at Brentford

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·14 de septiembre de 2025

Match Report: Chelsea frustrated by late equaliser in 2-2 draw at Brentford

Chelsea turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead, and then conceded from a late long throw to cap a frustrating night at Brentford.

The early stages were pretty cagey. with Chelsea dominating the ball but not creating much, while the home side looked to take advantage of set pieces. In a dull opening 20 minutes, debutant Facundo Buonanotte was the most impressive player in Blue creatively.

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But even as Chelsea tried to turn up the head towards the end of the half, it was Brentford who struck first. Counter attacking from a hopeful cross swung into the box, Jordan Henderson picked out Kevin Schade on the halfway line as he raced clear of Tosin.

The defender was able to get back and put a block in, but it was only enough to deflect the ball past Robert Sanchez. As half time arrived, a stale Chelsea had yet to produce a good chance.

Enzo Maresca made an impressive 3 half time changes, removing the struggling pair of full backs – and Buonanotte, confusingly. That raised the temperature, and they were raised forward not long later when Cole Palmer joined the fray.

He took just a few minutes to level the scores, half volleying in Joao Pedro’s knockdown with a lovely first time strike.

From there, things went a bit mad. Chelsea started pushing forward and playing better with their best players on the pitch and Brentford had chances on the break. Finally the Blues got what they thought was a winner – a screamer from Moises Caicedo.

But there was another twist in the tale – a long throw deep into injury time was knocked in at the far post after Alejandro Garnacho was caught napping on his debut. An exciting game, probably a fair result, but a frustrating night for Chelsea.

MOTM – Cole Palmer

Analysis

Chelsea celebrate a goal as a group. (Photo by Harry Murphy/Getty Images)

An incredibly frustrating night for Chelsea – ultimately a draw was a fair result, especially considering how dreadful the Blues were in the first half. But having turned the game around to, to throw it away was brutal.

We said after the win over Fulham before the international break that we weren’t quite sure how good this team is yet. Our wins have come against a terrible West Ham team and a decent Fulham side in a game which could have easily gone another way had VAR made a different call.

Meanwhile Brentford and Crystal Palace shut us down for long periods of those game. Far more attacking fluency is needed, and Enzo Maresca has his work cut out to help the new players settle in and improve with games now coming thick and fast.