Chelsea survived a late onslaught from Brentford to return go top of the Premier League table with a 1-0 win on Saturday.
Ben Chilwell’s strike settled the West London derby but only thanks to Edouard Mendy’s heroics behind a makeshift defence, featuring Premier League debutant Malang Sarr.
Much talk pre-game was spent on Brentford’s potential for getting up and at the Chelsea defence but it was the Blues who fared best with the direct approach.
However, Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku struggled to get going and chances were limited early on. Not until a 17th-minute Lukaku free-kick, sent high and wide, was a shot fired at either
Brentford were even quieter but had the first major chance, Bryan Mbeumo finding space in the area only to hit the post. Immediately up the other end, the visitors had the ball in the net thanks to Lukaku – who was rightly called offside.
