The Debrief: Brentford 2-2 Chelsea

My thoughts on the game as a whole.

Good Afternoon Ladies and Gents,

Today I am going to review and debrief yesterdays fixture v Brentford.

Overall a draw was a fair result in my mind, we started really well and the majority of the first half we looked comfortable, we kept the ball well and Poch’s new 3-5-2 formation seemed to be working quite well.

Nico Jackson scored a fantastic header from an outrageously good Malo Gusto cross, the goal overall was top class, especially after Jackson missed a semi-difficult open goal just before, he never had control of that situation and his touch around the GK let him down as he had to take a further touch which took him off balance.

Going in to half time, I was a little skeptical because at the end of the day we are Chelsea and we always do our best to make things difficult and keep us fans on the edge of our seats.

The start to the second half couldn’t have gone any worse with Brentford coming out on the front foot and Chelsea staying in the dressing room, the man at the top of your screens just casually let the ball roll through to Roerslev to tap home, completely unaware of his surroundings Disasi looked bemused. The whole defence at points could have solved the situation better, but ultimately it was Disasi’s error that caused the goal.

Just after the equaliser we had a counter attack that was 4 on 2, Gusto did really well to burst down the right hand side and played a low cross to Cole Palmer who uncharacteristically overcooked his shot and placed it wide of the post, he opened up his body a little too much.

The second goal for Brentford was a bit sloppy overall, although the finish was impressive, a simple cross into the box was partially cleared by Colwill before Onyeka tried to control the ball and it fortunately popped up in the air for Wissa to try an overhead kick for the 3rd time in the game, this one flew into the net.

Once the 80th minute came Chelsea decided to start trying to put a little bit of pressure on Brentford and at that point they were there for the taking, a succession of half chances and attacks lead to corners, before Cole Palmer put a delicious cross in for Disasi to nod in at the far post.

Ratings;

Pochettino - 6

The change in formation lead to more control and more freedom in attack for the likes of Jackson and Palmer who enjoyed being able to roam.

Unfortunately whatever happened at half time cost us this game, none of us will ever know whether it is Poch’s team talks or what the players do in the dressing room but one thing we all know is we are so slow from every single restart and almost may as well not bother playing the first 10 mins or so after HT each game.

Djordje Petrovic - 6.5

Another solid game from Petrovic, he had few saves to make, but when he did he did it well and could do nothing about either goal.

His distribution was good and I still love the fact he knows when to go long and take the pressure off of us at the back. Undoubted No1

Axel Disasi - 6

I thought he was quite sloppy and a bit slow to react to situations today but he did have some good moments defensively, his on the ball work is still a little inconsistent, he played a couple of excellent line breaking passes but also wasted possession a few times needlessly

Trevoh Chalobah - 6

The re-introduction of Trev is something I love to see, I am a big fan of his and we always seem to be a bit more composed with him involved, his passing was good and he played the central role in the back 3 well.

Levi Colwill - 6.5

The best of the 3 at the back on the day, he was really solid and looking through his stats he was a monster defensively, unlike him his passing was the only thing that seemed a little bit off in his game today but that is a rarity so we will let him off.

Malo Gusto - 7.5

He gets better every single game and playing as a wing back suits him even more than playing as a full back, he relished the role, constantly bombed forward, he should have walked away with 2/3 assists and he was really good defensively as well.

Conor Gallagher - 7.5

A usual Con performance absolutely solid and energetic, the rest and goal in midweek has clearly refreshed him I thought he was brilliant today, he needs to sharpen up his final third passing but other than that really good.

Moises Caicedo - 7

He reads the game and intercepts so well, makes tackles sometimes from impossible angles and manages to win the ball, he had a spell in the middle of the game where his passing was dreadful but he ended the game with 90% accuracy so he definitely bought it back.

Enzo Fernandez - 6.5

I thought he looked quite tired and leggy, which was expected to be honest. He wasn’t quite his usual self but with the formation and Chilly being a little more advanced Enzo managed to drop into half spaces around the full back area to distribute the ball as well as get forward to play around the box

Ben Chilwell - 6.5

I thought he was actually a little bit reserved at wing back which was a surprise, he wasn’t the usual Chilly bombing up and down and very rarely got in behind the Brentford wing back, he recycled the ball well and defended solidly.

Cole Palmer - 7.5

Always involved, always showing for the ball and was constantly trying to find pockets to receive the ball in, the freedom suited him as he was able to roam and vacate space for others to fill in to. His cross for Disasi’s goal was top draw.

Nico Jackson - 7.5

I would have given Nico an 8 if it wasn’t for that miss, he was a handful for the Brentford defenders, he looked much more comfortable playing with somebody really close to him, he is still more of a second forward or wide forward in my mind but he has some excellent attributes which are sometimes hidden by little raw mistakes he makes.

SUBS;

Mykhailo Mudryk - 6

Didn’t do enough to impact the game

Raheem Sterling - 6

Wasn’t on long enough to judge fully

Thanks for reading

Luke Rushbrook