A pulsating 2-2 played out between Brentford and Chelsea at the Gtech on Saturday afternoon was as close to the game of two halves as one could ever expect.
The opening period, with Brentford set up as defensively as possible (Jensen, KLP and Neal Maupay all benched), saw two teams for whom ‘not losing’ was a clear priority. It was no surprise given recent results for both (and criticism for the Blues) with chances at an absolute premium. Chelsea with the best of them as Nicolas Jackson broke the deadlock ten minutes before half time after seeing an earlier effort cleared off the line by Zanka when Mark Flekken in nets had forced him wide.
If that was a sorry miss, Jackson did well with his eventual goal to lose Ajer, get ahead of Zanka and leave Flekken no chance with his close range header. It was one moment yet deemed sufficient to elicit half-time boos from some of the Brentford ‘fans’ (seriously? Top, top marks to Thomas Frank for calling them out at full time. Utter planks). What came next put them firmly back in the box. Get plate. A knife. A fork. Add some words. Tuck in…
The Brentford that re-emerged were a completely different side. The same on paper but a performance that saw them realise Chelsea were nothing more than a disjointed bunch of bling clad blue shirts, bedecked with those bizarre shiny accoutrements. If only they could have been as flash on the pitch.
Instead, Mads Roerslev and Sergio Reguilón turned up the dial to 11 down the flanks. Yoanne Wissa charging through just about everywhere, showing ten times more gusto than the opposition namesake. A clear desire to make something happen. Christian Norgaard doing what he does and everybody else stepping both in and up.
Boom. Five minutes into the second half and there was Roerslev with the equaliser. Arriving like a runaway freight train to get on the end of the ball after Reguilón’s shot had been diverted away from goal. It was no more than Brentford’s new found positivity had suggested was coming yet on they pushed.
Ooohh. The Bees went again. Pressure building with Vitaly Janelt coming closest. His low shot hitting the post from distance after being released by Wissa. Goalkeeper Petrovic, preferred to the toblerone fingered Sanchez, could only watch as the ball went past him before deflecting to safety.
It wasn’t long before the lead was eventually taken. Referee Jarod Gillett allowing play to continue after Ivan Toney was ploughed through (about the only thing yet another abject man-in-the-middle got right) and the ball found Wissa, then Reguilón. Chelsea were unable to clear and just two days into March, what came next is already being pencilled in for goal-of the-month.
Onyeka flicked it up, resulting in Wissa sending the crowd absolutely nuts. With his back to goal he watched it rise, fall and timing his leap to perfection, executed a bicycle kick that probably has the net still rippling even now. It was a thing of absolute beauty with a celebration to match. The player charging towards Thomas Frank where he was joined by the rest of his team. Anybody doubting the spirit of cohesion in the Brentford camp only need look at the aftermath to the goal.
Still Brentford came. Lions determined to wrap this one up and inflict a killer blow on the wounded jackal that was Chelsea. Sergio’s header hitting the post (just what is it about the woodwork at the Gtech?) as The Bees pushed on. Jensen entering the fray. Then, disaster…
Norgaard breaking, lost the ball in midfield when the pass to Wissa was crying out to be played. Talking to somebody infinitely more erudite and au fait with the finer points of our beautiful game at full time, the suggestion was rather than player error, it was more a case of waiting for the call to release the ball. It never came or wasn’t heard but the end result being it Chelsea allowed to return back downfield and win a soft corner.
It was taken short and with the sun low and in Flekken’s eyes, the unmarked Disasi was allowed to head home at the back stick. Urghh. 2-2. The visitors grabbing one against the run of play but that’s on us. Chances taken over chances created every time. The back line – entirely second choice given the huge run of injuries suffered – unable to keep this one out.
With Maupay and the impressive Yarmoliuk late additions to the party, The Bees gave it their all. The win threatening but no better opportunity than those already seen created. A mere five minutes of injury time allocated by Mr. Gillett insufficient to make any difference.
Given Chelsea players had spent more time on the deck than the Royal Navy, I was expecting a good ten plus. Go figure. On the plus side, anybody having a crisis of faith could only have been heartened by the amount of miracle cures seen the moment the whistle blew to stop play. It was like Lourdes out there for Chelsea.
Instead, things finished level. A dynamic performance from Brentford, second half especially, that will only give heart going into next weekend’s game at Arsenal. Ethan Pinnock and Ben Mee will both be out (the later now officially confirmed as missing the rest of the campaign), but if we attack like we did in this one then it should be another cracker. Moreso as they’ll have to play their second choice ‘keeper.
That’s to come. For now, this week’s star player and top five. As always, we give five points for first, four for second place, three for third etc with the totals added up game by game to find an overall winner after game 38.
2023-24 Brentford Player Ratings from Matchweek 27 (vs Chelsea)
1st (Star player: 5 points) – Mads Roerslev
His best game of the season by an absolute country mile. Talk about a confidence player. Mads made the top five against Man City two games ago, was noted as just missing out last week and now he is absolute leader of the pack.
Honestly, he was magnificent. Once he gets going there’s no stopping him. He was full of those lung busting runs reminiscent of the one he made in the play-off final to deliver the ball in for what transpired to be our second, and game killing, goal.
Here he was doing it all again although this time also able to get on the scoresheet himself. The interplay with Ivan. With Wissa. With Sergio. With just about anybody was a joy to behold as he caused carnage down the right and sent a whole series of lovely balls into the box .
The goal and five crosses saw him in the danger zone more often than Kenny Loggins. Top work from Saturday’s top gun.
2nd (four points) – Yoane Wissa
That’s two second places in a row for Wissa. His wonderful goal and cameo from the bench against West Ham seeing him rewarded with a starting berth in this one.
Honestly, I thought Thomas got his set up wrong at the start and played too cautious a set up. Thought he’d start with Neal. As much as anything else to wind the blue blotters from the off.
What do I know? Wissa was on fire (somebody really should do a song about that) and ran himself in to the ground. Absolutely tireless in his pursuit of the win. In his pace. In his looking to get behind the Chelsea backline.
The goal was incredible and deserves to be replayed time and again. Yet it was the overall running and effort exerted -something that perhaps just watching Match Of The Day (other highlights packages are available) probably won’t illustrate.
3rd (3 points) – Christian Norgaard
Once again, Christian was at the heart of everything. With the back line made up of anybody who could put on a pair of boots, his performance in that defensive midfield position was even more crucial than ever.
He didn’t let us down. The captain once more leading by example (I know we seem to use that phrase a lot but he keeps on doing it) with more passes and more tackles than anybody else in red and white stripes.
Building the attacks. Breaking up the play when Chelsea threatened. Spraying those passes out to his team mates. He did it all and whilst there may not have been the camera friendly moments enjoyed by the others, make no mistake he was was the pivot on which our entire game plan balanced.
4th (2 points) – Sergio Reguilón
What Mads did down the right, Sergio looked to match on the left.
A fourth appearance in the ‘top five’ from the last six games shows just how well Sergio is settling in to this team. Just how much of a talent we have been fortunate enough to acquire in the absence of Rico and Aaron.
This was another of those games where he didn’t put a foot wrong and looked as effortless as a swan despite the huge amounts of energy being expended to keep going. Played a key role in the goals. Could well have had one himself which, had it gone in, would have wrapped up the three points for The Bees.
Instead, it’s a case of two personal points for Sergio and well played.
5th (1 point) – Frank Onyeka
I thought Frank was up there with our very best in the first half. It wasn’t the most exciting game of football but he was at the heart of everything – like Christian, breaking it up and then looking to start the play forward.
His obvious highlight was the lay up for the goal but don’t overlook how determined he was to get stuck in throughout the rest of the game.
His eventual substitution , with a booking already earned via the roulette wheel that was the Gillett yellow card decision making system, was perhaps as cautious a move as anything else. Plus, he was just knackered after putting in one heck of a shift out there.
2023-24 Brentford Player Ratings – Top 5 Players Overall (after Matchweek 27)
All of which means Christian Norgaard moves further ahead of the chasing pack in the hunt for our player for the season. There are no other changes to the top five although the cluster of players sitting just outside continues to grow. The trip to Arsenal could see a fantastic opportunity for somebody to join this exclusive club….
1st – Christian Norgaard (43 points)
2nd – Ethan Pinnock (37 points)
3rd – Bryan Mbeumo (31 points)
4th – Mathias Jensen (28 points)
5th – Mark Flekken (26 points)
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