LONDON: Brentford thrashed London neighbours Chelsea 3-0 with second-half goals from Jaidon Anthony, Igor Thiago and Fabio Carvalho, handing Xabi Alonso’s side a third consecutive Premier League match without a win.
Anthony opened the scoring in the 61st minute when he headed the ball in from close range after Jannik Schuster headed a corner back into the goal, extending Chelsea’s record of conceding in the league to 21 matches.
Thiago doubled Brentford’s lead in the 83rd minute when Emiliano Martinez saved Kevin Schade’s shot on a counter-attack, but the ball fell straight to the Brazilian who made no mistake to finish off the opportunity.
Substitute Carvalho completed Brentford’s victory in injury time after finishing off Schade’s cross.
Schuster said he and his teammates increased the pressure on Chelsea after the break and that approach paid off.
“I think when the second half started we played more forward and then we scored, so I’m very happy,” the Austrian told Sky Sports.
The win lifted Brentford, who are still unbeaten in the league this season, into third place ahead of the weekend’s action, while Chelsea are seventh.
It was Brentford’s first home win over Chelsea since 1938 and manager Keith Edwards and his players celebrated the victory as soon as the final whistle blew, with their fans dancing in the stands.
Chelsea, who are usually prolific in front of goal, having scored 10 goals in the first four games of the season, only behind Brighton & Hove Albion who have collected 13 goals, almost opened the scoring early in the game through Pedro Neto’s curling shot which was parried by Caoimhin Kelleher.
Cole Palmer twice came close to breaking through the Brentford defence with individual moves, but overall Chelsea, who were missing Brazilian striker Joao Pedro through injury, failed to break through a well-executed home defence.
Alonso made five changes to the starting line-up, while captain Reece James was also ruled out through injury.
Danny Welbeck made his first appearance as a Chelsea player in the league this season, while another experienced player, Jordan Henderson, made his Chelsea debut against his former club last season.
Moises Caicedo is still sidelined with an injury that has seen him play only a few minutes this season, contributing to Chelsea’s defensive woes.