Chelsea remain in cruise control
A potentially seismic week for Chelsea got off to the perfect start as the Premier League leaders dismissed Championship side Brentford in what was more of an exhibition than a west London derby.
Ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Liverpool and the visit of Arsenal next weekend, manager Antonio Conte could barely have hoped for a less taxing afternoon as goals from Willian, Pedro, Branislav Ivanovic and Michy Batshuayi swept them into the fifth round.
Those upcoming fixtures will not define Chelsea’s season, but victories in both will see them tighten their grip on a league title that is already firmly within their muscular grasp.
Conte therefore took the opportunity to rest some of his big names here, giving run-outs to young prospects Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Nathaniel Chalobah, as well as a first start to Nathan Ake since he was recalled from loan at Bournemouth. There were no injuries, no goals conceded, and no problems for Chelsea. All things considered, this was the ideal day at the office.
“I must be pleased because when you change nine players and you see all the players in the squad are totally involved in our idea of football, in our project, it’s very important for me,” said Conte. “This competition until now has been an opportunity for me to pick players who have not played a lot but it was very important to see the right reply of these players, and that happened. For this reason I am very happy.”
Although it was not the most competitive of derbies, the home fans were still treated to a sprinkling of magic from the brilliant Willian, who gave Chelsea the lead with a signature freekick after just 14 minutes. Pedro soon made it two, rolling the ball home after being played through by Batshuayi.
Brentford had scored five in the first half of their third-round victory over non-League Eastleigh, but could easily have been more than five behind at half-time here as Loftus-Cheek twice went close, Ake fired wide and Cesc Fabregas tested Brentford goalkeeper Daniel Bentley with a long-range drive.
The Championship side, it must be said, did return to the field with renewed vigour after the break, and nearly put a blemish on Chelsea’s afternoon when Lasse Vibe found space in the penalty box, but he was charged down by Asmir Begovic in the home side’s goal.
Brentford manager Dean Smith said: “We had some chances at 2-0 that could have made the game very different. I felt in the second half we gave our supporters something to shout about.”
It did not take long for Chelsea to regain control of proceedings, though. The powerful Loftus-Cheek struck the bar after a barnstorming run from midfield before Ivanovic, brought off the bench in what could be his final appearance for Chelsea, crashed in a third at the end of another incisive counter-attack.
“This season he [Ivanovic] is not playing a lot for us,” Conte said. “When you are not playing regularly it is not easy to accept this decision but he knows the situation. I will be pleased if he stays with us but in this situation the player must make the best decision for him and his family.”
If this does turn out to be Ivanovic’s swansong, then it was an eventful farewell. Soon after his goal, he turned provider, winning a penalty under a clumsy challenge from Yoann Barbet. Up stepped Batshuayi to add another layer of gloss to a perfect afternoon.