Brentford 3-0 Chelsea: Bees hammer Blues at home as Anthony, Igor Thiago and Carvalho score

Brentford continued their best-ever start to a Premier League (PL) campaign with a 3-0 win over Chelsea, staying unbeaten after five matchdays and extending a remarkable record of six wins in seven all-time PL Friday-night outings (D1).

Match Report

With the last four H2H meetings at this venue all ending in draws, and Brentford having shared the points in a remarkable 10 of their previous 14 PL outings, everything pointed towards a stalemate – and the first half played right into that. A decent start from Chelsea saw Pedro Neto curl goalward, with Caoimhín Kelleher diving well to stop, but things then dried up as the visitors prioritised shoring up one of the division's leakiest defences.

Having, like Chelsea, scored first in each of their PL outings so far this campaign, Brentford soon started to find a yard of space though, like when Yehor Yarmolyuk struck into the hands of Emiliano Martínez from outside the area. Half chances for Morgan Rogers and Keane Lewis-Potter ended the half on a high, but both managers knew more was needed in the attacking areas after the break.

It was the Brentford players who seemed to get that message after the restart, with Mikkel Damsgaard pulling the strings and Jaidon Anthony heading too close to Martínez. But the summer signing from Burnley didn’t make the same mistake twice, as Damsgaard’s corner was headed back across goal by Jannik Schuster, allowing Anthony to nod home from very close range. That hour-mark opener prompted the visitors to push forward and open the game up, but they faced a stern Brentford back-line which scrambled away chance after chance.

As the final 10 minutes arrived, Chelsea were so desperate for an equaliser that they allowed the rapid Kevin Schade to race away on the counter, and though his effort was saved by Martínez, Igor Thiago was there to slot home the rebound and open his account for the season. If that wasn’t enough for the home faithful, the final seconds brought a third when Schade delivered to the far post for Fábio Carvalho to bundle in. After a few frustrating weeks, this first-ever home PL win over Chelsea is just what was needed for Brentford, while Xabi Alonso will be wondering where the goals have gone after his side had previously averaged three strikes per game in 2026/27, particularly as it’s their first failure to score in PL action since April.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

3' Schade goes on a solo run, but he fails to create a chance as Fofana blocks him

7' Palmer looks to break free, but an opposing player clears the ball away

11' Neto meets a delivery and shoots towards the goal, but the keeper pulls off an easy save

23' Lewis-Potter gets to the rebound just outside the box, but his attempt is blocked

26' Kelleher receives a pass and makes a turn but then almost gets the ball into the his own net

29' Damsgaard brings down Palmer with a harsh tackle on the edge of the box, and that is a foul

31' Rogers stands over the free kick and opts to take it himself, but it is straight at Kelleher

37' Yarmolyuk receives a pass and blasts the ball, but Emi denies him with a remarkable save!

39' Damsgaard unleashes a shot from the edge of the box, but only see his effort sails high over the bar

41' Rogers gets on the end of a good pass and unleashes a decent strike, but the shot is blocked

51' Jaidon Anthony latches on to a superb cross but only hits the crossbar with a fine header

60' Neto fires the ball towards goal from just outside the box, but it goes narrowly over the crossbar

61' GOAL! Schuster sends a pass to Anthony, who heads the ball in from close! Brentford 1-0 Chelsea

71' Acheampong and Quenda come on as Fofana and Welbeck walk off

77' PENALTY APPEAL after Barco goes down under a challenge, but the referee signals no penalty

83' GOAL! Igor Thiago gets to the rebound and rifles the ball into the net! Brentford 2-0 Chelsea

87' Neto and Barco are replaced by Estêvão and Nicoll-Jazuli

92' Lacroix jumps high after collecting a cross and strikes with a. header but sends it into the stands

95' GOAL! Brentford 3-0 Chelsea (Carvalho)

Line-ups

Brentford XI: Kristoffer Ajer, Kelleher, Janelt, Mikkel Damsgaard, Keane Lewis-Potter, Kevin Schade, Igor Thiago, Jaidon Anthony, Yegor Yarmolyuk, Michael Kayode, Jannik Schuster

Subs: Callum Wilson, Rico Henry, Ellery Balcombe, Fabio Carvalho, Aaron Hickey, Mamadou Sangaré, Dango Ouattara, Benjamin Fredrick, El Hadji Malick Diouf

Chelsea XI: Henderson, Welbeck, E. Martinez, Pedro Neto, Maxence Lacroix, Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer, Wesley Fofana, Pep Chavarría, Colwill, Valentín Barco

Subs: Gusto, Gittens, Lavia, Jorrel Hato, Josh Acheampong, Mike Penders, Estêvão, Geovany Quenda, Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli