Brentford moved up to third in the Premier League after a convincing 3-0 victory over west London rival Chelsea on Friday.
The defeat extended Chelsea’s winless league run to three games and left manager Xabi Alonso searching for answers after a poor second-half performance.
Jaidon Anthony, Igor Thiago and Fabio Carvalho scored in the second half to give Brentford all three points.
“Disappointed with the second half, disappointed with the result,” Alonso said. “This is not how to compete in the Premier League. We were punished.”
He added that Chelsea need to become more consistent throughout matches.
“At the moment we are not being consistent enough to compete during the whole game. Forty-five minutes is not enough, you need to compete for the whole game,” Alonso said. “It’s about everything, it’s about tactical things that we need to keep improving and do much better.”
New-look Chelsea
Chelsea’s lineup reflected several of the changes made during the offseason, with experienced players Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck making their first league starts for the club.
The visitors looked more organized defensively in the first half than they have at times this season. They matched Brentford physically, won several duels and prevented Keith Andrews’ team from controlling second balls.
However, Chelsea’s defensive problems returned after halftime.
Brentford took the lead in the 61st minute when Mikkel Damsgaard delivered a corner that was headed on by Jannik Schuster before Anthony finished the move.
Thiago then found himself unmarked and scored after Kevin Schade’s shot was saved. Carvalho completed the victory in stoppage time, firing home a low cross to send the Brentford supporters into celebration.
Andrews praises Brentford
“It was a really good evening,” Brentford manager Andrews said. “It’s important that you enjoy evenings like this because you work so hard and there are so many tough days in this game.”
He said the rivalry with Chelsea made the victory even more satisfying.
“When you play against a west London rival, you build up to a game and you go on a bit of a journey with the team,” Andrews said. “There are always bumps along the way, but we were in a really good place and it’s nice to see it come into fruition tonight.”
Brentford now have nine points from five matches, three behind joint leaders Arsenal and Manchester City, who play on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
Chelsea remain seventh with seven points from five games.