THIRD SEASON: Chelsea singing the blues
Chelsea 0, Brentford 2; 28 October 2023.
It is by no means a given positive result when the Bees make the short journey to Stamford Bridge, but it is beginning to look that way.
Despite Chelsea’s patchy history in such encounters, the recruitment of a small, or indeed large, fortune’s-worth of hot-shot young players must have convinced the Blues that three points would be served to them on a platter before the day was done. But no: what arrived was an injury-ridden Brentford side masquerading as a resolute eleven with no intention of giving their hosts an inch, let alone the spoils.
No one would have known this from the first half, when Chelsea positively swamped Brentford. Those visiting supporters at the ground, or nervously watching on TV – me included – could not be certain how the visitors survived. Presumably the players from four-and-a-bit miles down the road did, returning to the pitch with their honour intact and and an added chutzpah that, we assumed, was dispensed by head coach Thomas Frank to them all via a tablespoon or possibly a ladle.
Chelsea, still with much the greater possession, continued to look the slicker side, but Brentford began to appear the more dangerous whenever battering their way into the opposition half. Vitaly Jenelt gave a clue to what might happen when finding space in which he could have danced a tango unmolested shot straight at goalkeeper Robert Sánchez. Okay, no more than a chance, but there hadn’t been one for the Bees until then.
Then, after 57 minutes of mostly one-way traffic, Bryan Mbeumo launched a dream of a cross to the far post and Ethan Pinnock bustled his way between two bemused defenders to score with an airborne header way out of Sánchez’s reach. And, for Brentford, the game took off.
Neal Maupay, still looking for his first Brentford goal in this spell with the club, replaced Yoane Wissa and set out causing Chelsea no end of trouble when forming a threatening partnership with Mbeumo, riding the crest of a wave of form in recent weeks.
Chelsea didn’t give up, but it was significant that they could not muster a shot on target throughout the second half. Worse, their deputy coach Jesus Perez, involved in a scuffle to retrieve the ball from the Brentford technical area, was dismissed with a red card after 88 minutes.
And, wait for it, even worse was the drama in the six extra minutes tacked on by the referee, which saw Maupay sprint away with the ball following a Chelsea corner and race towards the gaping net at the other end, Sánchez having deserted his post to help out the forwards. Maupay gallantly, or perhaps judging it was better to be safe than sorry, fed lone companion Mbeumo to score the simplest of goals.
Two consecutive wins saw the Bees leap to tenth in the Premier League table. Whatever next?
Brentford: Flekken; Ajer, Pinnock, Collins; Roerslev, Jensen (substitute Onyeka 90’), Nørgaard, Janelt (sub Yarmolyuk 76’), Hickey (sub Ghoddos 84’), Mbeumo, Wissa (sub Maupay 76’).
Hammers’ bubbles burst
Brentford 3, West Ham United 2; 4 November 2023
Three matches, three victories, nine points – that’s all it took to see the Bees emerge from the doldrums into Premier League sunshine.
Following a three-nil limbering up against Burnley – even the presence of celebrity Alastair Campbell couldn’t disguise the Lancashire club’s deficiencies – followed by the courageous 2-0 turnaround against Chelsea, the Bees resumed their pattern of invariably getting the better of the pride of East London.
On this occasion they managed it with a much-needed goal from Neal Maupay, who hadn’t scored a PL goal since last September (for Everton) and must have been thinking he’d lost the knack. He has played well in his few appearances for Brentford this time around so here’s hoping ending the famine will make him even more potent in future.
Thomas Frank’s problems with an injury list as long as Matthias Jensen’s best throw, from close to the corner flag into the goalmouth, is by no means over, so it was especially welcome after 11 minutes when Maupay – lurking in the visiting penalty area like good centre-forwards do – nodded a deflected effort by Frank Onyeka past keeper Lukasz Fabiaski. As Bees’ keeper Mark Flekken had tripped and fallen when clearing the ball a few minutes earlier, only to extend a leg to push it towards safety, the mass exhalation of relief at Maupay’s goal was almost audible.
But the home crowd’s contentment was dampened within a few minutes with what was to be the goal of the game. Michail Antonio supplied the accurate cross for Mohammed Kudus to unleash an acrobatic volley that gave Flekken no chance of interfering. And when Jarrod Bowen, another centre-forward of the old school, put West Ham 2-1 ahead after 26 minutes, heads were not especially high as the teams repaired following seven minutes added for their cocoa or lemonade.
There had already been signs of Brentford’s irritation at having fallen behind – Mbeumo contributing two fizzers of shots that sadly fizzed wide – and after the break it was good to see the Bees continue where they had left off. For all but one of the home team, that is; Flekken’s earlier bruising and fall when slapping the ball away presumably having had lingering effects and dictated his replacement.
Thomas Strakosha departed the bench to cope satisfactorily with everything that came his way, although this was not very much. Brentford, with their dander up, began to make inroads on a defence that seemed to grow shakier by the minute. After ten minutes of the second period a bout of ping-pong in the visitors’ goalmouth ended with defender Konstantinos Mavropanos getting into a muddle that ended with him heading into his own goal.
The smart money was now going Brentford’s way, or would have been if the smart money had any real sense. After 69 minutes Nathan Collins arrived at speed in the opposing penalty area and got his head behind Jensen’s grade-A cross in the manner of Ethan Pinnock at Chelsea the previous week. Collins’ first PL goal for the club was celebrated in the manner of Maupay’s earlier score, although perhaps not quite so gleefully as Neal.
Unsettled West Ham manager David Moyes patrolled the technical area like a caged tiger until referee Thomas Bramall trotted over to issue a yellow card. Admonishments were handed out here and there by Mr Bramall; the spirited singing of We’re Forever Blowing Bubbles faded and died in the visitors’ stand, and Thomas Frank made a few substitutions, including that of Jensen to the accompaniment of prolonged applause from the cheerful home fans.
Said Benrahma was among those of his players removed by David Moyes, somewhat surprisingly considering the ex-Bee’s his spirited efforts. Even the home crowd would probably have applauded him had they noticed his departure.
They did delight in Ben Mee’s reappearance for all of 90 seconds or so following his injury, prompting the familiar ‘Meeee’ roar from the faithful.
‘I love this club,’ Maupay was to say later to Sky TV. ‘Meeee too.’ said my mate Charlie.
Brentford: Flekken (substitute Strakosha 45m); Ajer (sub Roerslev 79), Collins, Pinnock, Janelt (sub Yarmoliuk 79)’); Onyeka, Jensen, Nørgaard; Mbeumo, Maupay, Wissa (sub Ghoddos 89).
West Ham United: Areola; Coufal, Mavropanos, Aquerd, Emerson; Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Soucek; Benrahma (sub Fornals 64); Bowen, Antonio (sub Ings 64).
Kopping it at Liverpool
Liverpool 3, Brentford 0: 12 November 2023
All good things come to an end? Well, the Bees’ run of three splendid victories certainly can be consigned to Premier League history, but the story behind the scoreline at Anfield is one of guts and determination and derring-do displayed by a team that refused to recognise opposition at the top of their form.
Brentford wouldn’t lie down. Indeed, had pyjamas been available they would have spurned them and battled on through good and bad, creating myriad chances upfront and resolutely defending while somehow conceding three goals that left a skew-wiff impression of the game come the final whistle.
How so? Hard to tell. Liverpool certainly deserved to win, but not by the definitive gap entered in record books. The omnipresence of Mo Salah and the absence of Ivan Toney had something to do with it. Salah, in tremendous form, scored twice; Toney quite likely would have done so had his suspension been over, but chances were squandered despite the holes in the home defence punched by Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and, latterly, Neal Maupay, plus eager contributions from others.
Then there was a befuddled response to an attacking wave by Liverpool that ended with Salah looking embarrassed when tapping in after the Brentford team appeared to believe the ball had already crossed the byline. No arguments, but it was an error that quite likely deflated the visitors for a while.
All in all, It was a cracking game, on television and in real life, with enough incidents to satisfy even the most demanding supporter. Liverpool had the ball in the net twice in the first period before Salah’s splendid first goal, VAR ruling out the first two efforts for offside.
Alisson (Becker) brushed a Matthias Jensen free-kick over the bar and a Mbeumo breakaway was thwarted by the advancing keeper finger-tipping a diversion past a post. And statistics had a field day: Salah’s second, his tenth of the season, saw him record his two hundredth goal and Liverpool register their sixth home win, which could see them challenging for the PL championship if they sharpen up their defence.
Brentford emerged from the run-down to the international break in tenth place, a handy position from which to climb higher but, conversely, the lower half lurking comfortably below.
‘Today I really, really liked my team,’ Thomas Frank was to tell Sky Sport, while pointing out blemishes that need to be addressed. What’s been not to like as the halfway mark of the season approaches? But half-a-dozen points would be a handy Christmas gift.
Brentford: Flekken; Ajer, Collins, Pinnock, Mee, Roerslev (substitute Ghoddos 72m); Jensen (substitute Yarmolyuk 72), Nørgaard, Janelt (sub Onyeka 45); Mbeumo, Wissa (sub Maupay 72).
Bill Hagerty is a contributing editor to the Chiswick Calendar website