Brentford 0 Chelsea 0 – Maresca’s bold starting XI, Nkunku’s struggle, is Sanchez fun?

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Enzo Maresca’s relationship with the Chelsea fans has been mixed in recent months but there were more moans and groans as his heavily rotated team failed to break down Brentford.

After beating Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at a raucous Stamford Bridge in midweek, the head coach made five changes, with striker Nicolas Jackson and playmaker Cole Palmer on the bench.

It meant Chelsea were disjointed in the opening period and forward Christopher Nkunku paid the price at half-time when he was replaced by Jackson — a decision greeted with cheers from the away section. Palmer and Pedro Neto joined the action before the hour and Chelsea did improve, with home goalkeeper Mark Flekken finally called into action to keep out Neto’s shot.

But Chelsea’s Robert Sanchez was the busier goalkeeper in the closing stages, with Kevin Schade and Yoane Wissa going close. Palmer almost snatched all the points when his shot fizzed over the bar but Chelsea had to settle for a draw.

Liam Twomey analyses the talking points from the Gtech Community Stadium.

Did Maresca pick the right team?

Maresca rarely delivers exactly to expectation with his team selection but, given the context and the stakes, this might have been his boldest Chelsea lineup of the season with Palmer, Jackson, Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella among the substitutes.

“It will be the game plan,” Maresca said when asked to explain his decisions ahead of kick-off. “The ones that are going to start I think are going to be the right ones. Also because we have a few back from injury (recently). Playing after 72 hours isn’t the best after you’ve come back from a long time (out with) an injury.”

More big minutes for Palmer — who missed England duty in the March international break to manage a hamstring issue — and Jackson so soon after his first appearance for two months against Spurs would have been a significant risk, but so too was leaving them out against a Brentford team who rarely fail to give Chelsea a tough game at the Gtech.

Palmer started on the bench against Brentford (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

It was the type of selection that can make a coach look like a genius or a fool, depending on whether or not he gets the validation of events on the pitch.

For much of the first half it looked primed to backfire on Maresca; an increasingly confident Brentford made most of the running, harrying Chelsea into hopeless kicks upfield where Christopher Nkunku was well handled by the bigger Nathan Collins and Sepp van den Berg.

But while it was far from convincing or inspiring, Maresca’s starting team did enough to keep the score goalless until the big guns could be introduced from the bench in the second half. There were loud cheers when from the away end when Nkunku was replaced by Jackson at the break and Palmer and Neto came on for Noni Madueke and Kieran Dewsbury-Hall before the hour mark.

Maresca’s focus on the bigger picture is admirable. He will need Palmer and Jackson fit and firing for the bigger Premier League tests that lie beyond Brentford.  The difficult balance he must strike is to make sure that Chelsea do not lose their narrow advantage in the race for Champions League qualification while they rest.

What next for Nkunku?

Chelsea supporters were not shy with their frustration when Noni Madueke received the ball on the right flank in the 34th minute.

“Attack, attack, attack” came the chant as he sized up Keane Lewis-Potter. When he cut inside and stung the palms of Brentford goalkeeper Flekken with a fierce effort, his endeavour was cheered like a goal and quickly followed by a sarcastic chorus of “We’ve had a shot”.

Madueke, however, was not the primary source of their ire. That was probably Maresca, whose patient possession focus has been unpopular in the stands for months, but the on-field symbol of Chelsea’s attacking dysfunction in the opening 45 minutes was Nkunku.

Nkunku failed to make the most of a rare Premier League start (Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)

Nkunku, as has been well established, is not a natural No 9. It is no secret that he has been less than happy with his role at Chelsea this season and will be every bit as motivated to depart Stamford Bridge this summer as the club are to get his huge contract off their books.

But in the meantime it is in everyone’s best interests for the Frenchman to give his best effort in a Chelsea shirt — which made his latest insipid showing so disappointing.

Collins and Van den Berg barely had to break a sweat in marking Nkunku. That was always likely to happen whenever Chelsea were reduced to kicking high and long upfield, but Nkunku allowed himself to be bullied and repeatedly dispossessed when team-mates tried to find him with passes.

The result was that Chelsea found it almost impossible to retain the ball high up the pitch in the first half. On several occasions Nkunku’s movement, or lack thereof, was a source of visible annoyance to his team-mates.

Jackson took less than four minutes following his half-time introduction to underline what Chelsea had been missing with Nkunku: receiving a pass into feet under pressure, holding off Collins and then spinning into the space behind him to ignite an attack. A minute later he ran behind his marker — something Nkunku is capable of but seemingly unwilling to do — and fired a shot wide from a tight angle.

Chelsea fans are keenly aware that Jackson is far from a perfect player, but Nkunku’s performance level is making him impossible to do without.

Another Sanchez rollercoaster

Is there anything in the Premier League quite like the Sanchez experience?

Chelsea supporters often give the impression that they would rather anything — or anyone — else. In the moments where Sanchez kicks the ball straight to the opposition to gift a dangerous attacking opportunity or drops a catch under zero pressure, as he did in the first half here, it is easy to see why many are completely done with him.

But for all his flaws, Sanchez also has it within him to make saves that prevent Chelsea from disaster. He did it most memorably in the second half in the Gtech Stadium, stooping low to parry away a forceful Mbuemo shot after a lightning two-man break with Wissa.

Overall this was one of the Spaniard’s more solid distribution days; even his worst pass of the first half, which almost led directly to a goal for Mikkel Damsgaard, was at least equally the fault of Nkunku for not positioning himself to receive and protect the ball. Sanchez was also prepared to kick longer from his restarts in order to evade Brentford’s stifling press.

Brentford probably still should have won this game on the strength of chances they missed that had nothing to do with Sanchez’s interventions. But he was a legitimate reason why one point did not turn into zero for Maresca’s team.

Whether he will be the next time Chelsea take to the field is anyone’s guess, but that is all part of the fun (or anguish, depending on your natural disposition).

What did Maresca say?

We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.

What next for Chelsea?

Thursday, April 10: Legia Warsaw (Away), Conference League quarter-final first leg, 5.45pm UK, 12.45pm ET

Recommended reading

(Top photo: Maresca cut a frustrated figure at the Gtech. Chelsea Football Club/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

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