Chelsea had a golden opportunity to turn their 4th-place hopes into a very real chase for 3rd in the Premier League, but Enzo Maresca’s side settled for a scoreless draw with fellow west Londoners Brentford on Sunday.
BRENTFORD 0-0 CHELSEA - Highlights, recap & analysis
Maresca rested Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Pedro Neto from the start (all three came on in the second half) with an eye (or two) focused on Thursday’s Europa Conference League trip to Poland, where they will face Legia Warsaw in the first leg of their quarterfinal tie. Brentford had the game’s best scoring chances — both inside the final 10 minutes — even if they were out-shot 21-9 on the day.
Enzo Maresca reaction — What did Chelsea boss say after draw with Brentford?
“Overall, I think it was a good performance. The only thing we missed probably was a goal, but we created enough — more than 20 shots, so I think it’s a good volume. This is a tricky game, tricky pitch, 24 hours less than [Brentford] in terms of recovery. So overall, it’s a good one.”
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How difficult is it to play two Premier League games on Thursday and Sunday? “Especially at this stage of the season, it’s very complicated. 24 hours makes a difference, that’s why I said. We planned the game to start one way and finish the other way, but overall I think we did enough to win the game. … First of all, for me when you don’t win it’s important you don’t lose so at least it’s a good point.”
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“Tomorrow we will start to prepare for the Conference League game and then we’ll see, but now we have a game every three days until the end.”
