“Thomas Frank’s team came to defend, but did not stop the opponents’ attack.”, — write: football.ua
Thomas Frank’s team came to defend, but did not stop the opponents’ attack.
Chelsea v Brentford, Getty Images December 15, 2024, 11:00 p.m
However, in the context of the sixteenth round of the national championship, Enzo Mareska’s team, which again could not rely on the Ukrainian attacker Mykhailo Mudryk due to the latter’s illness, was in for a rather interesting test. Another London team visited Stamford Bridge – Brentford, which has gained a lot of momentum recently, but, as before, did not like to go anywhere outside of its home arena.
The head coach of the “bees” Thomas Frank understood this, and therefore his decision to play with five defenders and a very low block near his own goal was quite understandable. In this way, Chelsea got a lot of time with the ball, and taking into account the performers under Mareska’s weapon, it could be very dangerous for the opponents, whose Ukrainian midfielder Yehor Yarmolyuk appeared again from the first minutes.
However, our boy didn’t get to hold on to the ball very often, because the opponents constantly crowded Flekken’s possession, and only the skillful footwork(!) of the goalkeeper while deflecting kicks from the penalty area, mostly at an acute angle, helped to restrain this pressure of the “blues” . Chelsea created enough chances, so in the end they scored in the dressing room.
In the 43rd minute, a cross from the right wing from Madueke sent Kukurel with a header into the far corner, and it was almost his only chance to play like that outside of regulation time, because otherwise Yarmolyuk was glued to him. But the hosts took the lead and this did not bode well for the guests in the second half.
Brentford were still under pressure from Chelsea for a long time, Flecken continued to work diligently to ensure that his team did not concede again, while time was running out precisely in favor of Mareska’s team. In the end, the manager of the “bees” could not stand it and made a triple substitution with the participation of Yarmolyuk, and almost from the first attack, the fresh Carvalho should have scored, but his completion of the cross from the right flank to the near one was transferred to the crossbar by Sanchez.
And already in the next Chelsea attack, Caicedo took the ball away from Carvalho in his own half, after which Enzo’s legs started a counterattack with a finish from Jackson in someone else’s penalty area. “Pensioners” in this way put an end? They thought so too, but instead they missed a pass from Carvalho to Mbeumo, and he scored at least one goal. But no more.
Chelsea are away to Everton in the next round, while in midweek they play at home to Ireland’s Shamrock Rovers in the UEFA Conference League, while Brentford have a League Cup tie away to Newcastle before hosting Nottingham Forest.
Chelsea — Brentford 2:1
Goals: Kukurelia, 43, Jackson, 80 — Mbeumo, 90
Chelsea: Sanchez – Gusto, Adarabioyo, Colville, Cucurella – Caicedo, Fernandez – Madueke, Palmer, Sancho – Jackson (Nkunku, 83).
Brentford: Flecken — Roerslev (Ayer, 76), van den Berg, Collins, Pinnock, Lewis-Potter (Meggoma, 86) — Nerhor, Yarmolyuk (Carvalho, 76), Damsgaard (Yanelt, 63) — Mbemo, Wissa (Schade, 76) .
Warning: Kukurelya — Yanelt, Shade (after final whistle)
Marc Cucurella (Chelsea) was sent off after the final whistle (second caution/unsportsmanlike conduct).