Chelsea's uneven start to the Premier League season continued with a 3-0 defeat at Brentford on Friday night. All three goals arrived after halftime as Brentford earned their first home victory over their west London rivals since 1938.
Brentford break through
Chelsea had the better of the early possession but could not convert it into a goal. Brentford changed the match after the interval, with Jaidon Anthony opening the scoring before Igor Thiago doubled the advantage. Substitute Fábio Carvalho completed the result late.
The home side remained unbeaten in league play and climbed to third in the table. Chelsea slipped to seventh after a performance that produced few clear chances.
Chelsea's early warning signs
The loss extended Chelsea's winless league run to three matches. The Blues have also gone 21 Premier League games without a clean sheet, a defensive streak that has followed them into the new campaign.
Chelsea were missing several important players, including João Pedro, Moisés Caicedo and Reece James. Manager Xabi Alonso made five changes to his lineup, but the reshuffle did not produce enough attacking threat to answer Brentford's second-half surge.
Chelsea now have to regroup quickly as the early league table begins to take shape.
_Photo: Ollie Noori/Wikimedia Commons, dedicated to the public domain under CC0._