LONDON — Parading down the street in expensive new “clothes” prepared by a pair of weavers who claimed the fabric was only invisible to those incompetent or stupid, the Emperor of this timeless parable is met by an awkward public too insecure to point out that he is naked. It took the outburst of an otherwise oblivious child to expose the ugly reality in front of everyone.
Brentford delivered that eye-opening blurt, breaking the illusion of Xabi Alonso’s early spell in west London with a brilliant 3–0 win on Friday night. Suddenly, this side which had been hailed as ruthless going forward (if chaotic defensively) looked toothless and timid—and still wide open at the back.
In reality, their attacking might this season should always have come with a caveat.
Why Chelsea Couldn’t Break Down Brentford
There are emphatically no frills about this Brentford side, imagined or otherwise. Keith Andrews, with the help of an unrivaled recruitment team and organization at all levels throughout the club, has crafted one of the trickiest Premier League operators in the division on a shoestring budget.
This example for all clubs handed their west London neighbors a brutal reality check.
For the first hour, the Bees were a picture of resilience, dutifully exposing a painful reality about this version of Chelsea, which simply isn’t very good at playing the ball out of the back.
The Blues were one of only two Premier League teams to come into the weekend with a double-digit goal tally, yet they have owed the vast majority of their threat to counterattacks and set pieces this season. No team came into the weekend with a higher proportion of shots from fast breaks than the Blues (22.7%).
Chelsea Premier League Goals
- Total : 10
- Counter-attack : 3
- Set piece : 3
- Open play : 3
Brentford simply aren’t going to give you chances in transition and are managed by their former set-piece coach, who prides himself on shutting down all those dead-ball scenarios. Chelsea were left with almost nothing else on Friday.
The Blues finished the match with a pitiful open play xG of just 0.58, forcing Caoimhin Kelleher into just a pair of tame saves. When faced with Brentford’s set shape, Chelsea just couldn’t find a way through the tight stitching. The visitors invariably seemed to work the ball out to their left flank for one of Levi Colwill or Pep Chavarría to blast it forward out of hope, more than expectation, as though they were reading from a set of instructions written in a language neither spoke.
The sequence of events didn’t help Chelsea. This was the first time they haven’t scored in the opening seven minutes of a Premier League match under Alonso, robbing them of the chance to take advantage of a team chasing their way back into the contest.
Alonso berated Cole Palmer in the first half for not tucking infield enough when the defense was building out from the back, but he wasn’t the attacking focal point Chelsea were missing.
Any Team Is Allowed to Miss Joao Pedro
João Pedro went into the weekend as the most decisive player in the division, boasting more combined goals and assists (six, three of each) than anyone else. Pedro has either scored or created four of Chelsea’s last five Premier League goals, a record maintained even in his enforced absence through injury on Friday.
The rubbery striker is the glue binding Morgan Rogers and Palmer together in a front three which wreaked havoc across the opening four rounds of the campaign. “We complete each other,” Pedro explained earlier this month. They certainly looked to be incomplete in his absence.
This is a player Alonso has compared to Karim Benzema, a former Ballon d’Or winner who stands as Real Madrid’s second top scorer of all time. Danny Welbeck was hardly abysmal in his stead but failed to even take a shot on Friday, ploughing a lone furrow only as close to Brentford’s goal as the hosts’ defense would allow.
Pedro’s return will undoubtedly help Chelsea rediscover some edge, but of his six goal contributions, only one has come from open play. There are more structural issues for Alonso to fix.
Chelsea’s Two Villains Can’t Find the Solution
Chelsea’s newly-blunted attack was not balanced by any more solidity; for the sixth game against Premier League opposition in succession, Alonso saw his side concede at least three goals. It was the same outcome, even with a different approach.
Alonso deployed a new-look midfield duo which spent the evening fighting for the loudest boos: the Argentina international Valentín Barco inspired a spiky backlash from English fans who haven’t forgotten the World Cup, but Jordan Henderson was the biggest villain on his first return to the Gtech after leaving Brentford for Chelsea over the summer. There was some smattering of applause from fans when Henderson offered a clap of his own before taking the game’s first corner, but the majority made their feeling known with a six-letter name best not committed to print.
Both of them started the match jumping into the press behind the front three with a snap and a snarl, helping plug the gaps which had been exposed during Alonso’s previous insistence of fielding a midfield pairing with at least one fullback in it. However, that energy faded after the hour mark, ebbing away with all Chelsea’s solidity.
Every mile covered by Henderson should count for more than the average player given the additional lung capacity required to sprint and shout at the same time. The England international was constantly wafting his hands around, ushering his teammates into position during the buildup like a beleaguered teacher trying to get disinterested students on their stage marks for the school play. Barco looks slight enough to still be auditioning for a role in that production.
Both midfielders innately keep their passes simple rather than surgical and failed to offer any cutting edge from the middle of the pitch. On a rare occasion when Henderson played the ball forward, his telegraphed pass was cut out and swiftly stuffed into the back of the net by Igor Thiago.
Brentford thrived through the very avenues which Chelsea were denied: transitions and set pieces. If it wasn’t obvious already, it has been laid bare for all to see now. Alonso must find a new route to success.
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