ENZO MARESCA gambled with Chelsea’s European ambitions – and may well live to regret it.
The Blues arrived in west London with the chance to further cement their chances of playing Champions League football next term – their number one priority this term.
Chelsea looked toothless as Cole Palmer was named on the bench against Brentford[/caption]
Brentford had the best chances of the game but were unable to make them count[/caption]
It left Chelsea’s Champions League hopes on a knife-edge[/caption]
Victory at mid-table Brentford – the only Prem side without a home clean sheet this campaign and winless in their last seven home outings – would have put them four points clear of sixth-placed Aston Villa and within two of third-placed Nottingham Forest.
So, it was anyone’s guess why Maresca decided to dance with the devil this weekend, dropping FIVE first-team starters. In this instance, the devil could have the last laugh.
Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, Marc Cucurella, Levi Colwill and Pedro Neto were all forced to watch from the bench as Chelsea faltered at a time they simply cannot afford to, dismally dreary for large parts against the Bees and only slightly better once Maresca gave in and chucked on the players that should have started in the first place.
Yes, Palmer and Jackson have only just come back from muscular injuries after starting the 1-0 mid-week over Tottenham, but surely the risk was worth taking?
This has the potential to be a definitive weekend for Chelsea, for all the wrong reasons, inviting the likes of Villa, Manchester City and Newcastle to take full advantage.
Keane Lewis-Potter sauntered down the left early on and picked out Bryan Mbeumo at the far post, but his volley back across goal was out of reach for Yoane Wissa.
Frank taunted Chelsea before kick-off, suggesting they were “under pressure”, and Brentford upped the ante further by aggressively pinning Maresca’s men back.
Lewis-Potter was in the mood, pinging another beauty in behind for Kevin Schade to chase, cutting back for Wissa to fire into a collection of static defenders in Blue.
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Chelsea’s attacking presence was non-existent. And when they did get into promising positions, Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke were alarmingly impressive at doing nothing with it.
Nkunku in particular was being bullied with ease by Brentford’s giants of men at the back. Another wasted chance to turn Maresca’s head, possibly now one for the Chelsea chopping block come the summer.
A lack of clear-cut chances at either end made for a drab atmosphere in the west London sunshine.
But you can always count on Robert Sanchez to bring some entertainment wherever he goes, like a travelling circus’ comedy clown wearing gloves.
First, a trademark pass straight to an opposition player from the Spaniard. He was at hand to clear up his mess, denying Mikkel Damsgaard after Wissa’s clever dinked pass.
And then, under no pressure at all, a stationary Sanchez decided to let a ball slip through his hands and almost onto the boot of Mbeumo.
Maresca was not enjoying his keeper’s flirtations with danger, nor was the Italian coach thrilled with a lacklustre performance that was gradually getting worse.
Jadon Sancho made a rare burst forward only to look up and find no one had joined him. Reece James’ weak defending then allowed Mbeumo to cut in and drag one just wide.
If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. That was the view the away fans were clinging onto, sarcastically singing: ‘We’ve had a shot’ as Madueke fired straight at Mark Flekken.
‘Boring, Boring Chelsea’ was the response from the home support as Sanchez palmed clear a Nathan Collins header.
Maresca could and should have thrown on all of his game-changers at the break. Instead, he opted for just one to start with. Nkunku hauled off for Jackson.
There was an instant impact.
The Senegalese striker linked up well and then tested out his recently recovered hamstring with a lung-bursting to beat the Bees backline only to let Flekken off with a scuffed effort.
Momentum, at last. Some more Chelsea positivity had Sepp Van Den Berg sweating as his dodgy cleared cross bounced off the chest of Flekken and out for a corner.
Thirteen minutes into the second half, two more big-hitters entered the fray, immediately combining. Palmer to Jackson, Jackson to Neto and a shot from distance denied by an acrobatic Flekken dive.
An encouraging introduction, but also a worrying reminder of just how much this Chelsea team rely on a few spectacular individuals.
The Bees keeper was finally being kept busy, pulling out another aerial stop from a darting James header.
An end-to-end contest was threatening to spark into life as Brentford brought about the game’s best chance in the 79th minute with a stunning counter attack from a Chelsea corner.
It was embarrassingly simple for Mbeumo to bring down the ball, control it and then run around 50 yards up field before playing a neat one-two with Wissa.
The resulting shot was full of fizz and power, met firmly by a strong Sanchez right hand.
For all of Chelsea’s improvement, they could have gone behind another two times in the next two minutes, Van Den Berg heading into the ground and agonisingly over from a few yards out.
Wissa’s flicked header seconds later was more forgivable, but still had Sanchez scrambling.
With seconds remaining, Palmer curled wide and hurled himself to the floor in despair as the full-time whistle went.
For Maresca’s sake, let’s hope this is not the beginning of a grisly end to Chelsea’s season.
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