Chelsea closed the gap on league leaders Liverpool with a crucial 2-1 victory over visitors Brentford on Sunday evening in the 16th round of the English Premier League.
Marc Cucurella opened the scoring for Chelsea in the 43rd minute, while Nicolas Jackson added a second in the 80th minute. Brentford’s lone goal came from Bryan Mbeumo in the 90th minute.
With this victory, Chelsea climbed to 34 points, securing second place and closing the gap to two points behind leaders Liverpool, who still have a game in hand. Meanwhile, Brentford remain on 23 points, sitting in 12th place in the standings.
The first significant opportunity of the match came in the 3rd minute when Chelsea right-back Malo Gusto delivered a cross that Nicolas Jackson headed just wide of Brentford’s top-left corner.
Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken came to his team’s rescue in the 11th minute, denying Jackson’s close-range effort following a pass from Moises Caicedo. Moments later, Flekken’s save rebounded off the Brentford defence and fell to Cole Palmer, whose immediate shot was also stopped by the Dutch goalkeeper in the 14th minute.
Chelsea kept up the pressure, with a clever combination between Palmer and Noni Madueke setting up Enzo Fernandez for a strike from the edge of the area, but Flekken handled it comfortably. In the 28th minute, Madueke headed a corner off target, while Chelsea defender Levi Colwill made a crucial block to deny Brentford’s Mikkel Damsgaard in the 30th minute.
Palmer’s cross in the 32nd minute found Jadon Sancho at the far post, but the winger’s shot only hit the side netting. Chelsea came close to scoring in the 39th minute when Madueke intercepted a poor pass from Flekken, advanced towards goal, and fired a shot, only for the goalkeeper to redeem himself with a fantastic save.
Chelsea’s persistence finally paid off in the 43rd minute. Madueke delivered a pinpoint cross from the right, and Marc Cucurella rose above the defence to head the ball into the net, giving Chelsea a well-deserved lead.
The second half began quietly, but Chelsea squandered a golden opportunity in the 60th minute. Jadon Sancho broke through on the byline and cut the ball back to Jackson, who fired his shot high over the bar.
Madueke attempted another shot in the 66th minute but directed it straight at Flekken. On the other end, Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez made a crucial save in the 73rd minute, stopping Brentford captain Christian Norgaard’s powerful attempt to keep Chelsea ahead.
In the 75th minute, Jackson found himself on the counterattack, advancing towards goal but shooting wide of the far post. Brentford nearly equalized in the 77th minute when substitute Fabio Carvalho met a cross from Agger, but his effort struck the crossbar.
Chelsea doubled their lead in the 80th minute. Enzo Fernandez played a perfectly timed through ball to Jackson, who calmly slotted it low into the bottom-right corner of the net.
Chelsea had another chance in the 87th minute after earning a free kick. Palmer’s delivery found defender Tosin Adarabioyo, whose header missed the target.
Brentford managed to reduce the deficit in the 90th minute. Kevin Schade delivered a through ball to Bryan Mbeumo, who sprinted clear and calmly finished past the Chelsea goalkeeper to make it 2-1.
