Chelsea avoided a second defeat of the season to Brentford as Axel Disasi’s late header earned them a 2-2 draw at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Looking for their first win over the Bees since 2021, the Blues made a solid start and took a lead into half-time, after Nicolas Jackson found the bottom corner with a header from a brilliant Malo Gusto cross.
But Brentford were significantly improved after the break and turned the match around, Mads Roerslev equalising shortly after the restart and Yoane Wissa’s superb acrobatic effort then putting them in front against a rattled Chelsea side.
The mood in the away end darkened, as Chelsea fans chanted against Mauricio Pochettino and Todd Boehly, though that was briefly put on hold as Disasi rose highest to meet Cole Palmer’s cross with seven minutes remaining.
Jackson probably summed up his erratic first season leading the Chelsea line in the space of 10 first-half minutes. First the Senegal forward embarked on a promising run into the Brentford area, only to try one step-over too many and somehow tackle himself.
Then he latched onto Enzo Fernandez's through-ball, took it round Bees keeper Mark Flekken and rolled it towards an empty net. However, he undercooked his finish and allowed Mathias Jorgensen to get back and hack the ball clear from underneath the crossbar.
But 10 minutes before half-time Jackson did brilliantly to leap between Bees centre-halves Jorgensen and Kristoffer Ajer and meet Malo Gusto's cross with a powerful header to open the scoring.
The Bees duly hauled themselves level five minutes after half-time when Toney launched the ball into the area. Sergio Reguilon's shot was blocked but the ball rolled to wing-back Roerslev who lashed it past Djordje Petrovic.
They almost led two minutes later when Vitaly Janelt fired through a sea of Blue bodies and shaved the foot of the post.
But Chelsea blew a golden chance when Gusto led a four-versus-two counter-attack and squared the ball to Cole Palmer, who scuffed wide from 10 yards out.
It looked like a costly miss in the 68th minute when Reguilon crossed from the left, Frank Onyeka kept the loose ball alive and the Wissa acrobatically hooked it into the roof of the net.
But with seven minutes remaining Disasi arrived at the far post to head home a cross from Palmer and snatch a point for Pochettino.
