Chelsea’s players came in for criticism from their fans after their frustrating start to the season continued with a derby defeat against Brentford at Stamford Bridge
Nicolas Jackson drew a blank against Brentford
Mauricio Pochettino ordered a Chelsea fan to “support the team” after striker Nicolas Jackson came in for vocal criticism in the Blues’ clash with Brentford.
Senegal striker Jackson returned to the starting line-up for the London derby, having made a cameo from the bench in the previous match against Arsenal. He drew a blank against the Bees, though, with Thomas Frank’s side running out 2-0 winners at Stamford Bridge.
Jackson had appeared to shush the vocal fan, who hit out at the frontman’s lack of goals, with Pochettino then intervening. The 22-year-old has been wasteful in front of goal since joining from Villarreal, scoring twice in nine league outings, but none of Chelsea’s players covered themselves in glory in front of goal on Saturday.
Chelsea went into the match without Mykhailo Mudryk and Enzo Fernandez, both of whom picked up injuries which Pochettino suggested won’t keep them out for too long. The depleted hosts went close in the first half when Noni Madueke hit the crossbar, but a limp second period allowed Brentford to take control.
Ethan Pinnock put the visitors in front shortly before the hour mark with his first goal of the season, with Bryan Mbeumo adding a second on the break in stoppage-time after Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez came up for a corner. The result sees Brentford leapfrog Chelsea, who could end the gameweek as low as 14th depending on results elsewhere.
It was the third season in a row in which Brentford have won at Stamford Bridge. Frank’s side produced a sensational 4-1 away win in April 2022, while Mbeumo was on target in another 2-0 victory 12 months later.
After the game, Pochettino was asked if his squad had enough goals in it. Summer signing Christopher Nkunku is still yet to make his competitive debut after suffering an injury in pre-season, while Armando Broja missed the last two games after making his own return from an ACL tear.
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Mauricio Pochettino with Nicolas Jackson (
Image:
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“It’s obvious that, at the moment, no,” Pochettino said. “So far, no. But Nkunku proved he can score in the big leagues like Bundesliga and he was injured in the last pre-season game.
“This kind of thing doesn’t help. Broja, of course, and in different circumstances Nicolas Jackson was affected for different reasons – he arrived and needs time to adapt. But it’s obvious.
“Of course, when you see a game like today or against Nottingham Forest when we dominate and cannot score goals when the block is so, so deep and too many bodies in the box, we struggle a little bit to score. But in different games when you play teams like Arsenal or Liverpool, I think the team did really well and that’s why we’re not worried. We need to move on.”
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