Nothing for an hour, then everything
Sixty minutes of stalemate at the Gtech, and then Chelsea fell apart. Brentford beat them 3-0 on Friday night in a west London derby from round five of the Premier League.
Anthony got the first in the 61st minute. Xabi Alonso reacted fast, throwing on Geovany Quenda and Josh Acheampong. Neither changed anything.
Thiago made it two in the 83rd. Carvalho added a third in the fourth minute of stoppage time. The Bees defended for an hour, scored three times in half an hour, and never looked like conceding, even with Chelsea emptying their bench at them.
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Third place, and nobody saw it coming
Brentford move above Chelsea and into the top three. Arsenal stay ahead of them, still unbeaten, still first.
So are Brentford, five games in. The club has spent the opening weeks doing its work without much noise and with a squad that cost a fraction of the one it just dismantled.
Three points, a place among the leaders, and the sort of home win that gets remembered in November.
Chelsea are stuck, and the boardroom is moving
Two defeats in five for the Blues, who sit seventh. Friday night was an invitation to close on the teams above them before the Saturday fixtures even started. They did not take it.
The context does not help. Todd Boehly confirmed this week that he has sold his entire stake in the club. Alonso is trying to install his ideas while the people above him are being replaced.
The fixture list offers no relief. Brentford will read the table on Saturday morning with rather more pleasure.
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