Chelsea vs Brentford LIVE: Premier League result as Blues cut Liverpool’s lead and extend streak

A frantic London derby built on instinct and emotion naturally propelled Marc Cucurella into the spotlight again. Enzo Maresca refuses to acknowledge Chelsea as title contenders, but for large spells, amid such intensity from Thomas Frank’s excellent Brentford, they thrived and eventually held on for a precious victory, cutting the gap to leaders Liverpool to just two points, with the Reds holding a game in hand.

But the Spaniard was the protagonist once again here. He was immense and involved in everything the Blues did well, including a diving header to break the deadlock on the stroke of half-time. But just as memories fade from his farcical slips at Tottenham, this dynamic display was given a late blemish as Cucurella earned a red card after the final whistle following a needless scuffle with Kevin Schade, meaning he will now miss next week’s game against Everton.

But before the late drama, Cucurella delivered more evidence of how he’s completely transformed both his own game and helped the Blues quickly establish themselves as title contenders under Maresca, no matter the Italian’s reluctance to accept it.

“The goal we concede, it’s something we need to manage better, when the game is finished, we can manage in a different way, it’s experience for the players,” Maresca adds.

“You can talk about the title and the fans can dream about the title, absolutely, if you ask me I’ll tell you what I think and you think in a different way. For me we’re not ready, but we’re happy the fans can dream.”

“I don’t think we’re ready to compete in the title, they know how to compete in the title, they won’t concede the goals we concede.

“I think they know how to win titles, that’s why they don’t concede, it’s one of the reasons why I say we’re not ready to win titles. If you don’t believe me, I told you, I’d like the pressure to compete.

“But we’re not ready, for many reasons, we cannot concede the goals we concede and open the game for them to take a point.”

Chelsea’s next match comes at home to Shamrock Rovers this Thursday in the Conference League, before they face Everton away on 22 December – that’s a 2pm kick-off.

Brentford play Newcastle away in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, 18 December, before they host Nottingham Forest at the Gtech in a 3pm kick-off on Saturday, 21 December.

Chelsea moved to within two points of the Premier League summit as Marc Cucurella continued his remarkable ascent to score in a 2-1 win against Brentford at Stamford Bridge.

The defender was seemingly a symbol of Chelsea’s botched recruitment for much of his first two seasons after moving from Brighton, but like his team-mates this season he has been rejuvenated as Enzo Marescawatched his side without question insert themselves into the title race.

The head coach has repeatedly insisted his young squad are not ready to challenge but this was their fifth league victory in a row and, despite Fabio Carvalho striking the bar at 1-0 after Cucurella’s opener and Bryan Mbeumo jangling nerves with a goal at the start of seven added minutes, it was as commanding a one-goal win as could be hoped for.

Brentford boss Thomas Frank says that his side “played a very good game here” and “were unlucky not to get a draw”.

“Some big chances we missed in the end.

“We managed for the 90 minutes to go toe to toe with Chelsea, especially in the second half. A draw would have been fair.

“Chelsea are a very good team, well coached, very good players. They spent a few quid on the squad. They’re playing with confidence. Credit to them for pushing us back in the first half.

“Second half we were more aggressive and played higher. You could see how much trouble we caused them by how much they celebrated 2-0 and at the time.

“They are right up there in the title race. They’re very good.

“It was a very competitive game with two teams who wanted to win. It can get heated.”

Moises Caicedo told the media that his teammates “are happy” after a big win.

“This feeling is so good for us. We’ll keep working to keep up.

“We are enjoying it. We’re doing fantastic. N’Golo Kante is my idol. I try to help the team. He’s a very big player. I try my best.

“The sky’s the limit. We will keep working hard. Keep winning, keep the momentum.”

Speaking right after the game, Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson said it was a “very big win”.

“Not an easy game. They’re a difficult side to play against. It was difficult because they always play set-pieces. But we won. I’m very happy.

“Listen to the manager, respect the plan and we did that. It was more difficult at the end because they wanted to score again.

“We’re getting to know each other better. Last year is finished, now we’re concentrating on this year.

“I missed that one but I was thinking I’ll get another one and try to score to help the team win. I did exactly that.

“It’s all about getting more experience. I’m getting more confident.

“We’re just trying to win every game and focus on the next one. I don’t look at the table.”

That results keeps Chelsea in outright second place on 34 points, two behind Liverpool (who have a game in hand). The Blues could go top if they beat Everton next week, as they play before Arne Slot’s side.

Brentford are in 11th, on 23 points, level with Newcastle and Spurs but behind the latter on goal difference.

It seems as though Cucurella’s second yellow came for a shove on Brentford’s Kevin Schade. The Spaniard will miss the next match, as the club can’t appeal the decision.

It does look sort of needless, but so is the decision from the referee.