Chelsea Coach Xabi Alonso admitted that “everything was disappointing” after his team suffered a 3-0 defeat at Brentford tonight.
Chelsea were arguably the better side in the first half but capitulated when Jaidon Anthony nodded home the home side from a corner just after the hour mark.
Igor Thiago scored his first goal of the season late on to make it 2-0 and Fabio Carvalho added a third goal in stoppage time to complete an awful night for Alonso at the Gtech Community Stadium.
He told BBC Match of the Day: “Everything was disappointing, especially the result, but we can do better. We have to do better. For 45 minutes we were competing well, but in the second half we went down and conceded all three goals. You have to be very focused, and once you score from a set-piece, it gives them an advantage and control because when you score the second goal we become a bit tougher and a bit more disciplined. close to the box, we must correct our mistakes.”
Chelsea offered little going forward, while looking weak defensively.
“The first half we were around (the box), but we didn’t create big chances,” said former Real Madrid coach Alonso. “We missed the last pass, the last dribble to get shots in clear positions, but that’s one part. The other is when you have to hold, when you have to be tight, (the opponent) is trying to attack you and you have to know how to defend and stay together. Win duels and be consistent in that part.”
Lacking spark up front and weak defensively â Chelsea’s problems were laid bare
Chelsea have now conceded 12 goals in five Premier League games, the most in the top flight.
Alonso said: “It’s everything, but for sure the individual and collective details will have to be better, but not only defensively, with the ball there are parts where we have to do better.”
Set-pieces remain a huge problem for Chelsea and England international Levi Colwill, who admitted they need to improve in that area for the club to progress.
He told Sky Sports: “It hasn’t been good enough. We’ve been bullied in the box at times, we definitely need to improve on that. We all have confidence in our manager at set pieces and we’re still adjusting to new things. We need to improve as a team.
“I don’t think our spirits have dropped. We’ve been hurt and we’ve tried to push for an equalizer and we’ve been beaten on the counter-attack. I don’t think our spirits have dropped.
“We still have a lot to improve on. We can’t rely on our front three to get us out of danger. The rest of us have to help as much as possible. We definitely have a lot of room for improvement.”
Brilliant Brentford are enjoying the taste of victory
While it was a sad night for Chelsea, it was a celebratory one for Brentford, who received adulation from their supporters at the final whistle.
Head coach Keith Andrews said: “I felt there was something bubbling towards tonight and I have this incredible calm around our team because I trust them. I see a humility and hunger within the group and we can challenge each other.
“We have to keep getting better in this league, the money teams spend on players, but that’s just on paper, what we do every day in training is push the limits, be open with each other and keep going down that road and I’m loving the journey.”
The win moved Brentford into third place ahead of the rest of the weekend’s fixtures.
