Fabio Carvalho tapped in a 93rd-minute equaliser from a long throw to earn Brentford a 2-2 draw after Moises Caicedo had smashed Chelsea ahead late on.
Cole Palmer scored within five minutes of coming off the bench to cancel out Kevin Schade’s first-half opener for the hosts, which came from Jordan Henderson’s wonderful pass, and launch a second-half turnaround.
Palmer was introduced in the 56th minute on his return from a groin injury after Enzo Maresca had made a triple substitution at half-time following a poor first-half performance that saw them have just one shot on target.
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Moises Caicedo with a ROCKET to give Chelsea the lead!
Reece James and Marc Cucurella came on for Wesley Fofana and Jorrel Hato, who both started at full-back, while Tyrique George replaced Facundo Buonanotte as Chelsea piled on the pressure before Caicedo blasted them in front with a shot from the edge of the area with only five minutes to play.
However, Brentford refused to give in and Schade’s long throw during added time dropped for substitute Carvalho, who had drifted in behind Chelsea debutant Alejandro Garnacho at the back post, to snatch a point and deny the Blues from going top of the Premier League.
Why did Maresca start Fofana, Hato and Buonanotte?
Maresca’s starting line-up suggested he had an eye on Chelsea’s Champions League campaign that begins on Wednesday against Bayern Munich, but he denied that was the case.
Fofana made his first start since March while Hato started for the first time in the league to make up a defence made entirely of centre-backs.
Buonanotte, who isn’t part of the European squad, made his debut despite not being up to speed because Estevao was absent from the squad. Reece James was benched after playing twice for England.
Maresca said it was planned for Fofana to play only 45 minutes, while Hato’s game time was also managed. The Chelsea head coach also revealed Joao Pedro wasn’t 100 per cent, but said if he was eyeing the Bayern match, then he wouldn’t have started.
Maresca: We could manage equaliser better
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca told Sky Sports:
“We knew that it was a tough game. In the first half, we struggled to find solutions, the space, because they were defending very good. I think second half we were much better. It’s a shame because we conceded in 93rd minute and we could manage better that moment.
“You have to be able to avoid transitions and set pieces – they scored from transitions and set pieces. It’s something we deal quite well with during the game but in the end, we concede and it’s a shame.”
Andrews: Henderson is the ultimate competitor
Brentford head coach Keith Andrews:
On long throws: “It’s not unique for this football club. I find with the modern game, and maybe it’s always been the way when the top teams do it, it’s accepted.
“It’s been a prevalent part of what this club has done for numerous years. I was obviously in a different role last year where we caused a lot of chaos from situations like that.”
On Jordan Henderson: “Jordan’s been brought in to provide experience and quality and leadership. I think what you’ve seen tonight is Jordan. He relishes the competition.
“He relishes the battle. People will go on about the pass for the goal. It doesn’t surprise me with the type of precision that he has, the deliberate way that he plays passes, whether it’s that type of pass or crosses that you’ve seen at Liverpool for many, many years into that half space.
“He’s an ultimate competitor. I thought he was outstanding.”
Carvalho: We work on set pieces a lot
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Fabio Carvalho reacts to his late equaliser to get a point against Chelsea after coming on from the bench.
Brentford goalscorer Fabio Carvalho told Sky Sports:
“Brentford are big on set-pieces and it’s good to put that into practice. It’s not as easy as it looks [to find space] but hopefully I can do that again. We do a lot of analysis off the pitch with video and utilise it.
“Keith (Andrews) is making his mark with the staff as well and the team are on board. We’ve got enough quality to do well this season.
“I’m sure we will be ok – we’ve lost players but have added a lot of quality and as long as we stay together we’ll be fine. Once we get momentum, we’ll be good.”
