London [UK], September 19 (ANI): Chelsea's woes in defence and set-pieces continued under new boss Xabi Alonso as they went down to West London rivals Brentford 0-3 in their Premier League clash on Friday.
Brentford rose to third spot in the Premier League table, with nine points and two wins in five games, while Chelsea slipped to seventh spot, with two wins, a draw and two losses. After a positive start with two wins, the Blues have their momentum stalled by a loss, a draw and now another defeat.
The first half was a goalless affair. Chelsea missed the services of their star player Joao Pedro, with veteran Danny Welbeck failing to make a lot of impact. Moises Caicedo was another massive miss for Chelsea, with his replacement, Jordan Henderson, being largely unimpressive.
Chelsea missed a couple of chances in the first half, particularly Morgan Rogers in the 41st minute, whose shot from the penalty area was blocked by Jannik Schuster.
After a goalless first half, Jaidon Anthony broke the deadlock in the 61st minute. A corner from Mikkel Damsgaard was nodded across by Jannik, leaving Jaidon unmarked and in the best position to strike.
In the 83rd minute, Kevin Schade saw his effort saved by Chelsea after a one-on-one, but Igor Thiago tapped in a rebound strike to double the lead. Fabio Carvalho made it three for Brentford in stoppage time, sealing three valuable points.
Chelsea have now conceded 12 goals in the Premier League so far, the most by a team, and their wait for a clean sheet continues.
Speaking after the match, Xabi said, as quoted by Sky Sports, "I am disappointed with the second half and with the result. This is not enough to compete in the Premier League.
"We were not able to maintain our level for the full 90 minutes, and that is why we were punished today. It is about everything. It is about the mentality, the football and the tactical things that we need to keep improving. We can do much better."
On if absence of Joao Pedro had a role, Xabi refused to take it as an excuse.
"It is not about looking for excuses. We need to look at each other and know that we have to work and improve because there is still a long way to go. We have to check many things. We got into situations, but we were not precise enough with the final action. That is why we did not score," he signed off. (ANI)
Premier League: Chelsea's defensive woes continue; lose 0-3 to Brentford
