Chelsea’s wait for a first away win in eight matches has been extended following Sunday’s goalless stalemate against Brentford.
Fresh from claiming a 1-0 triumph over Tottenham Hotspur, the Blues made the short trip to face their city rivals on a high.
Christopher Nkunku had the first opportunity of the game via a set piece, but he was unable to readjust his body well enough to direct Reece James’ inviting delivery home.
Brentford had their own first sight at goal shortly afterwards as Bryan Mbeumo found Yoanne Wissa, but he could only hit the side netting.
Mikkel Damsgaard had the game’s next effort from a free kick, and he was presented with a glorious opportunity moments later but lost his footing at the crucial point.
Having had a relatively quiet opening half hour, Mbeumo came to life in the 31st minute when he skipped past Reece James before sending an effort just past the near post.
After a pedestrian first-half performance, Nkunku was unsurprisingly substituted. Nicolas Jackson came on for his second appearance since returning from injury.
He wasted no time posing problems for the Brentford defence. Enzo Fernandez located his run behind, but he dragged his attempt wide of the mark.
Fernandez turned provider for Chelsea again 10 minutes into the second period from a corner which Trevoh Chalobah diverted well off the target.
Needing more from his side offensively, Enzo Maresca sent on Cole Palmer and Pedro Neto, and both players had decent sights of goal within five minutes of their introduction.
That continued a sustained period of pressure for Chelsea, who were increasingly looking the likelier of the two sides to break the deadlock.
However, the Blues were nearly caught on the break just shy of the 80th-minute mark, with Mbeumo forcing Robert Sanchez into action.
From the resulting corner, Sepp Van den Berg inexplicably fluffed Brentford’s best chance of the afternoon, which preceded another opportunity for Wissa.
Neither team was able to fashion any clear-cut chance in the remainder of the contest, leading to a share of the spoils.
Chelsea have extended their lead over Manchester City to two points ahead of a mouth-watering Manchester derby later today.
