Chelsea’s recent 3-0 defeat at Brentford has left manager Xabi Alonso visibly frustrated. "You need to feel it. We're not feeling it," he warned after the loss, highlighting a sense of déjà vu that has settled over the club.
This defeat marks Chelsea’s eleventh loss of the calendar year – already more than they recorded in the entire 2025 season – with three months still remaining. For the fifth consecutive Premier League match under Alonso, the Blues have allowed at least two goals, and their vulnerability on set‑pieces has become a recurring theme. Alonso lamented the drop in consistency and the missing competitive edge in the second half, a point that will undoubtedly sting Chelsea supporters.
Brentford capitalised on this dip, seizing control after the break with ease. The pattern is familiar: Chelsea are being out‑battled across the pitch, a problem that plagued them last season when they were outrun in the majority of their league fixtures.
Set‑pieces have emerged as a particular Achilles’ heel. Against Brentford, as against Hull in the previous game, Chelsea surrendered a goal from a dead‑ball situation. This was the fourth set‑piece concession in five league games, raising their season‑to‑date total to 23 – joint‑worst among all Premier League clubs. In the decisive moment, a cross was delivered straight to the back post, landing on Emiliano Martínez’s head.
Neither the goalkeeper nor the defenders reacted in time, and Brentford’s players anticipated the delivery a mile away. Vitaly Janelt confirmed the intent: "We targeted the back post at half‑time. There was a big gap at the far post, and we went for it on the first corner of the second half." Despite hiring Austin MacPhee, widely regarded as the league’s best dead‑ball coach, Chelsea’s set‑piece execution remains sub‑par.
Bernardo Cueva, the former set‑piece specialist now in a different role, was even poached by Brentford, underscoring the club’s ongoing struggle to master this facet of the game. Levi Colwill echoed the sentiment, admitting that the team has been "bullied" at times and must improve.
He expressed confidence in the set‑piece coach, noting that the squad is still adapting to new routines but that collective improvement is essential. Beyond dead‑ball situations, Chelsea’s defensive record is alarming. The team has gone 22 straight Premier League matches without keeping a clean sheet, and they concede an average of 2.2 non‑penalty goals per game. Expected‑goals (xG) data suggests this leakage is not merely bad luck; the Blues are statistically likely to allow that many quality shots on target each outing.
Their inability to protect the penalty area compounds the issue. Chelsea rank among the top three clubs for shots conceded inside their own box, roughly ten per match, turning their goalkeeper into a de facto battering ram. Such exposure explains why they have struggled to preserve leads in their last three league encounters.
The opening phases of the Brentford game also highlighted a lack of urgency. For the first time this season, Chelsea failed to take the lead within the first ten minutes, although Pedro Neto came close with a chance that was saved.
When they do fall behind, the team frequently loses its shape, as Alonso admitted: "We concede the first goal, you're still in the game but then we lose the shape. We were out of control." The return of Moisés Caicedo could provide some defensive stability, but his absence has exposed a worrying fragility. New signings Jordan Henderson and Valentin Barco started the match, yet Brentford’s midfield appeared more cohesive.
Keith Andrews’ side also seemed to have greater depth in the centre of the park, even with record signing Mamadou Sangaré watching from the bench for over an hour. Offensively, João Pedro has emerged as Chelsea’s most influential scorer this season, but the forward line was dismantled for the first time, and the Blues failed to find the net altogether.
The lack of goals added pressure on a defence already under siege. It is worth remembering that Alonso inherited a team undergoing a massive transition.
Seven of his summer signings featured in the starting eleven, and he is only the fourth manager to lead the club in nine months. Former captain Gary Cahill reminded everyone that rebuilding takes time: "It doesn't happen overnight. He will be judged in the next five, six, seven weeks because you will have that time on the training ground and then we should start to see his methods coming through." Alonso identified the key areas for improvement: set‑pieces, defensive duels, build‑up play, and overall game control.
While the list sounds straightforward, each component is interlinked and requires concerted effort during the upcoming international break, as Colwill stressed. The squad must use that period to address tactical deficiencies, sharpen mental resilience, and restore the defensive solidity that has been missing for far too long.