Chelsea Player Ratings vs. Brentford: Nervy Premier League Debut for Rosenior

Liam Rosenior’s first Premier League outing as Chelsea manager ended in a 2–0 victory over Brentford, but the new boss will know that result was more than a little fortunate.

Relying on the impressive Robert Sánchez and some tight VAR calls, Chelsea found themselves ahead midway through the first half through the lively João Pedro, before a Cole Palmer penalty against the run of play saw the Blues escape with three points.

There is still plenty of work for Rosenior to do, but this was an important victory for Chelsea. A run of eight consecutive games without a clean sheet was brought to an end and the Stamford Bridge outfit also climbed above their visitors to end the day in sixth in the Premier League standings.

Chelsea Player Ratings vs. Brentford (4-2-3-1)

Liam Rosenior, Trevoh Chalobah — Liam Rosenior brought out a number of handwritten messages. | Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC/Getty Images

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: Robert Sánchez—8.4: Some stunning saves, first to stop Tosin from turning into his own net and later to deny Kevin Schade, which were far more indicative of his recent form than his midweek slump.

RB: Reece James—7.4: Did not look comfortable at all in a performance which was well below his usual standards. Summed up his struggles by sending a corner straight out of play in the first half.

CB: Trevoh Chalobah—7.5: Came out fairly even from his battle with the in-form Igor Thiago, although the pace of Schade caused him a handful of problems.

CB: Tosin Adarabioyo—7.7: Uncomfortable when dragged out of the box but superb inside his own 18 yards. Won everything that came towards him in the air before being forced off through injury.

LB: Marc Cucurella—7.2: Plenty of freedom to roam around but didn’t always make the most of that. Looked a little lost at both ends of the field at times.

DM: Moisés Caicedo—7.5: Was left to do a lot of defending on his own and, while Caicedo can make that look like a good thing, he sometimes found it hard to keep up. Targeted Mikkel Damsgaard to great effect.

DM: Enzo Fernández—8.4: Tried to be a little too clever in the final third but lacked the necessary finesse. Good pressing for Pedro’s opener and got the assist without really knowing anything about it.

RM: Pedro Neto—7.2: Another lively performance which should have delivered an assist for Garnacho late in the first half. Gave Rico Henry all sorts of problems before fading after the break.

AM: Cole Palmer—8.3: Still clearly isn’t fully fit after returning from his groin injury. Chelsea’s talisman was slow on both sides of the ball and lacked sharpness in possession. That being said, his penalty was inch perfect.

LM: Alejandro Garnacho—6.3: There can be no doubting Garnacho’s work rate, but the end product was incredibly frustrating when compared to his impact against Arsenal. Somehow managed to miss what should have been a certain goal.

ST: João Pedro—7.4: Another who put himself about well. Struggled to get involved when dropping deep but was far better when focusing on the penalty area. Perhaps unfortunate not to win a penalty but took his goal with real class.

Substitute	Rating (Out of 10)
Andrey Santos (57’ for Garnacho)	6.5
Wesley Fofana (57’ for Tosin)	6.5
Liam Delap (74' for Pedro)	6.6
Jorell Hato (85’ for Fernández)	N/A
Josh Acheampong (85’ for James)	N/A

Subs not used: Filip Jörgensen (GK), Benoît Badiashile, Marc Guiu, Tyrique George.

Brentford (4-2-3-1)

Starting XI: Caoimhín Kelleher; Michael Kayode, Kristoffer Ajer, Nathan Collins, Rico Henry; Yehor Yarmoliuk, Vitaly Janelt; Mikkel Damsgaard, Mathias Jensen, Kevin Schade; Igor Thiago.

Subs used: Dango Ouattara, Keane Lewis-Potter, Aaron Hickey, Romelle Donovan.

Player of the Match: Robert Sánchez (Chelsea)

Chelsea 2–0 Brentford: How it Unfolded at Stamford Bridge

Cole Palmer, Alejandro Garnacho — A valuable victory for Chelsea. | Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images

On an afternoon which had begun with anti-ownership protests from Chelsea fans outside Stamford Bridge, it was Brentford who made the brightest start to proceedings, getting in behind the Blues defence without ever creating any real challenges.

Ten minutes in and things began to liven up for Chelsea. Alejandro Garnacho nearly pounced on a weak Nathan Collins backpass, and in the play that followed, João Pedro was left adamant he had been tripped in the box by Michael Kayode. A VAR check thought otherwise.

Chelsea were incredibly fortunate not to fall behind soon after, however. Kevin Schade turned Trevoh Chalobah inside out but declined to shoot and instead squared for Igor Thiago. The retreating Tosin Adarabioyo could only poke the pass towards Robert Sánchez’s goal from point-blank range, but the stopper pulled out a save which was both sensational and fortunate to keep the score level.

Some more good fortune benefitted Chelsea at the other end of the pitch as the Blues took the lead after 25 minutes. A poor pass from Kayode was deflected by Enzo Fernández into the path of Pedro, who wasted little time before thundering into the roof of the net. The offside flag was raised but VAR intervened and awarded the goal.

Mathias Jensen struck the post seven minutes before the break as Chelsea again had to rely on their luck at the end of the first half, but all that fortune disappeared when Garnacho somehow conspired to miss from five yards out after an excellent cross from Pedro Neto.

The second half began with another excellent Sánchez save to deny Schade. Brentford looked most likely to score the next goal and Rosenior did not wait too long before changing the shape by introducing Andrey Santos in place of Garnacho. For the second time in the match, a tactical handwritten note from the Blues manager entered the pitch as well.

João Pedro opened the scoring in style. | Jacques Feeney/Offside/Getty Images

Wave after wave of Brentford pressure left Chelsea hanging on at times. Blues fans, already unsettled and offering a number of chants against the current leadership, grew increasingly frustrated by what was a thoroughly uninspiring performance.

Igor Thiago headed wide with what was his first real sight of goal with 20 minutes left before, against the run of play, Chelsea were handed the chance to double their lead. A poor touch from Caoimhín Kelleher saw the Brentford goalkeeper send Liam Delap to the ground and a stonewall penalty was awarded.

Palmer stepped up and crashed home an excellent penalty to provide some much-needed breathing room for the final 15 minutes.

With every Brentford corner preceded by bodies on the ground and players more interested in fighting than football, there was nothing pretty about this game, which ended with Chelsea in a back five as Rosenior shut up shop and escaped with victory.

Chelsea vs. Brentford Half-Time Stats

Statistic	Chelsea	Brentford
Possession	56%	44%
Expected Goals (xG)	0.77	0.73
Total Shots	4	7
Shots on Target	1	3
Big Chances	1	1
Pass Accuracy	86%	85%
Fouls Committed	2	4
Corners	2	3

Chelsea vs. Brentford Full Time Stats

Statistic	Chelsea	Brentford
Possession	46%	54%
Expected Goals (xG)	1.59	1.54
Total Shots	6	15
Shots on Target	2	5
Big Chances	2	2
Pass Accuracy	85%	87%
Fouls Committed	7	10
Corners	3	9