On Wednesday, December 22, Chelsea defeated Brentford 2-0 in the Carabao Cup quarter-final.
Here, we'll try to assess the Blues' performance at Brentford Community Stadium.
Tactics
The starting line-up was a clear signal that Thomas Tuchel had decided to prioritise other competitions.
That said, it was the biggest day of their careers for Harvey Vale, Jude Soonsup-Bell and Xavier Simons.
On paper, it was the same old 3-4-3 formation from the Blues, but it had a twist as seen in this map of the players' average position in the first half:
It looked like Chelsea wanted to overload the flanks. Mateo Kovacic frequently played close to Marcos Alonso, while Cesar Azpilicueta ventured forward to support right wing-back Simons.
The plan might not have worked as Chelsea barely created anything before the break. However, let's not forget that their attacking line consisted of two debutants. Besides, Ross Barkley who was supposed to connect midfield and attack did not have a good day.
Score: 6/10
Substitutions
Tuchel still wanted to win this game - otherwise, he would not have brought on Jorginho, Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount, Reece James and N'Golo Kante before Chelsea finally found their breakthrough.
Almost each of the players who came off the bench played role in one of the two goals. Kante and James combined before Pontus Jansson's own goal. Minutes later, Jorginho converted a penalty won by Pulisic.
So, one can say that Tuchel outplayed Thomas Frank with his subs - but it was quite easy with the calibre of the players on his bench.
Score: 7/10
Attacking
As mentioned above, the first half was poor in that respect. Even though SofaScore's stats include eight shot attempts and one big chance for the Blues, it never looked like they were really close to scoring.
The second half was an even more dominant performance from Chelsea as their opponents did not have a single shot on target.
Still, the Blues only won thanks to an own goal and a penalty - hardly the most encouraging sign.
Score: 5/10
Goalkeeping
Brentford had only three shots on target (all of them in the first half), but each of them could've easily led to a goal.
Step up, Kepa: the goalkeeper who saved two close-range headers before thwarting Mbeumo's one-on-one chance.
The Spaniard was deservedly named Man of the Match by the Chelsea fans. We also need to remember that he won two penalty shootouts in the previous rounds of the competition - so, he's by far Chelsea's MVP in their Carabao Cup run.
Score: 8/10
