Christian Eriksen scored a fairytale goal as Brentford embarrassed Chelsea 4-1 in their own back yard.
13 minutes of second-half madness began with Antonio Rudiger giving the Blues the lead with a 35-yard screamer. But two well-taken strikes from Vitaly Janelt sandwiched Eriksen's latest milestone in his incredible comeback after suffering cardiac arrest just nine months ago.
That allowed super sub Yoane Wissa to wrap things up with a smart finish to put the icing on the cake, only two minutes after being brought on. Saturday's historic result moves Thomas Frank's team up to 14th in the Premier League table, 11 points clear of the relegation zone.
The match was notably Chelsea's second home league outing since owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government for his ties with Russian president Vladimir Putin, leading to the club itself being put under restraints. While a special licence has been issued for Blues supporters to attend FA Cup and Champions League games at Stamford Bridge, only season ticket holders can watch Premier League matches, resulting in plenty of empty seats for the Bees' cross-capital visit.
Here are six talking points from Stamford Bridge.
1. Pre-match protests
Before a ball was kicked, Chelsea's takeover saga took centre stage on the outskirts of Stamford Bridge, with a shortlist of potential new owners already drawn up. One group vying to succeed Abramovich are the Ricketts family, who own baseball behemoths the Chicago Cubs. But the Americans' interest hasn't been fully welcomed by Blues supporters, as Joe Ricketts - the family patriarch - was found to have described the Muslim community as "my enemy" in a series of emails from 2010.
While he issued an apology in the wake of the emails surfacing, a number of fans are furious with his involvement, with their bid spearheaded by Tom, Joe's son. From around 12:30 outside the stadium, supporters were seen voicing their opinion in an organised protest, chanting: "You're not wanted here, you're not wanted here. F*** off Tom Ricketts, you're not wanted here."
2. Brentford's bright start
To the game of football now and it was the visitors who went in at half-time happier. The Bees managed six shots to Chelsea's five, with Ivan Toney squandering the best two opportunities which would've capitalised on a sleepy start from their hosts. Thomas Frank's men pressed high and forced the Blues to opt for a more direct route forward, as demonstrated by Edouard Mendy's longer goal kicks.
Chelsea did, however, grow into the encounter but only Hakim Ziyech could trouble David Raya, with the Moroccan evading pressure from Ethan Pinnock and trying his luck from a tight angle in the penalty area. The Brentford goalkeeper, fresh from his first Spain call-up, tipped the ball over to ensure it was goalless at the break.
3. Rudiger rocket
If Thomas Tuchel wanted his team to wake up in the second half, he needn't have looked further than Antonio Rudiger. With the Blues sustaining possession in the Bees' half, Chelsea's soon to be out-of-contract defender unleashed a true bolt from the blue and got those lucky enough to be inside Stamford Bridge off their feet.
Rudiger is renowned for his speculative long-range efforts when Tuchel and co begin to get impatient, although they rarely hit the target, never mind the back of the net like this 35-yard stunner which swerved away from a helpless Raya. The Blues had broken the deadlock - but that was just the start of a dramatic 13 minutes.
4. Turnaround twist
Within 100 seconds of the German's shot hitting the back of the net, Brentford drew themselves level thanks to a superb response. Bryan Mbeumo was denied first but the Frenchman composed himself to set up Vitaly Janelt, bursting from midfield to rifle past Mendy at his near post inside the box.
Four minutes later, it got even better for the Bees, this time Christian Eriksen getting his name on the scoresheet to mark the latest milestone on his incredible comeback journey. During the international break, the midfielder turned out for Denmark for the first time since suffering cardiac arrest nine months ago and scored in both games - the latter coming in the stadium where he collapsed midway through a Euro 2020 match for his country last summer.
And Eriksen continued his good from with one of the easiest goals he'll ever score, floating into the penalty area unmarked to finish. Teammate Mbeumo had dragged three defenders his way on the counter attack before playing the ball back to the ex-Tottenham Hotspur star, who easily slotted home in a fairytale moment.
5. Janelt at the double
As the final state of the game began to take shape, with Chelsea pushing for an equaliser to avoid a nervy climax, it was Brentford who scored yet again to seal a historic win. Raya's long free-kick was nodded on by Toney, who soon found the ball at his feet with the chance to slip Janelt through at a tight angle.
The 23-year-old had no trouble, coolly sliding the ball beyond Mendy, shellshocked like his Blues teammates. In contrast, there was pandemonium in the away end, as the Bees consolidated their lead with half an hour remaining. Kai Havertz almost cut the deficit five minutes later, but the playmaker's goal was ruled out for handball.
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6. Wissa wraps it up
Chelsea continued to huff and puff until the final whistle, with Brentford's resolute defence holding firm despite £100million man, Romelu Lukaku's, introduction. Fending off a slew of Blues attacks, Yoane Wissa was the real star substitute, netting a fourth goal for the Bees in the 87th minute to become just the second away side to win at Stamford Bridge this season after champions Manchester City.
Frank's men are now well clear of the drop zone and, after a dark winter, are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel ahead of another campaign in the big-time. Meanwhile, Tuchel's team turn their attention to a Champions League quarter-final clash with Real Madrid on Wednesday after only their fourth league loss of the term.
