If Mauricio Pochettino is to become Chelsea’s new manager he must presumably have priced in the real risk of reputational damage. Their latest offering was yet another monument to the bloated, decadent, short-term thinking that has led them to the bottom half at warp speed under Todd Boehly and may yet bring further lows. They have become a club that taint almost everyone they touch and nobody watching an incoherent, uninspired group of individuals labouring against a gutsy and united Brentford would expect that to change overnight.
Time will surely be one of Pochettino’s most pressing requirements in the event he signs a contract. Frank Lampard, like most who occupy the home dugout here, is not about to benefit from that and will depart five games from now, unless he becomes the latest caretaker manager at a Premier League club to be shown his cards early. He cannot be blamed for the shambles that continues to unfold but Chelsea had thought he might at least coax a tune from a confused, drifting squad. Instead he has overseen a run of five defeats from five and his team patently cannot wait for the season to end.
“At the moment there’s clearly a confidence problem and I can see that in the players’ faces afterwards,” said Lampard after Chelsea were loudly booed off. They had improved slightly with the interval introductions of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mykhailo Mudryk, who were sent on to add spark after a staid starting lineup had gone behind to César Azpilicueta’s own goal, but a flurry of pressure did not bring clear chances and Brentford settled sufficiently to turn the screw.
Thomas Frank had seen Aubameyang spurn Chelsea’s best opportunity for an equaliser, a deflected shot giving David Raya little trouble, before making a triple substitution in an effort to reverse the flow. His changes had already made an impact before one of the newcomers, Bryan Mbeumo, was found in space on the right flank and deployed the afterburners. Mbeumo carried the ball 40 yards before shifting inside and ripping a decisive finish past Kepa Arrizabalaga; there was not the faintest suggestion Chelsea might come back from there.
“I felt for the players tonight,” Lampard said. “It wasn’t an application thing, I think with 20% more confidence as a group we win. But we didn’t because of the moment we are in.”
Perhaps a more attacking approach from the outset might have pulled them towards the right side of the margin. Lampard has injury problems to contend with, Marc Cucurella joining Reece James, Kai Havertz and Mason Mount on the sidelines, but it raised eyebrows to see him select a similarly workmanlike side to the one that did not disgrace itself against Real Madrid. A front three of Conor Gallagher and N’Golo Kanté scurrying around Raheem Sterling could not be faulted for honesty and was clearly Lampard’s way of trying to grind Chelsea out of a rut, but it meant their broad control of the first half was achingly sterile.
“I was surprised,” admitted Frank of such a conservative selection by his opposite number. “I’m pleased they showed us so much respect.”
Brentford had won 4-1 here last April but were happy enough with their narrow half-time lead. Their threat had been limited to set pieces and, from Mathias Jensen’s left-sided corner, Mathias Jørgensen’s header struck a helpless Azpilicueta. There was no chance for Arrizabalaga to react and the Bees, who would not land a shot on target until Mbeumo’s goal, had needed little ingenuity to expose their hosts’ soft centre.
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Mudryk, who is showing signs of adapting to the Premier League’s intensity, enlivened Chelsea although anyone capable of the slightest speed and invention would have managed that. He was involved in a move that led to Kanté firing across goal, but their remaining glimmers merely offered a reminder that the club’s muddled use of Aubameyang has left him well short of his sharpest.
“I don’t think it’s a secret that Chelsea are not in the best place but it’s still Stamford Bridge, still unbelievable players,” said Frank, who deserved his 100th win as Brentford manager. But the aura feels long gone from these parts and Pochettino would require bulletproof confidence to bring it back.
