After a huge win against Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night, it was perhaps a little unsurprising to see Enzo Maresca shuffle his pack here.
The Blues also have a UEFA Conference League quarter-final to prepare for in midweek, and with no fewer than four regular starters on the bench, it was unsurprising to see such a tame start. It was Chelsea who had the best chance of the early stages, but Christopher Nkunku headed wide despite being afforded an unmarked header inside the area.
That aside, the opening quarter of the game was something of a non-event, with Brentford content to sit in and wait for a Chelsea mistake.
Kristoffer Ajer, Yoane Wissa, and Mikkel Damsgaard all spurned half-chances for the Bees before the break, but that wasteful nature was somewhat indicative of the first half as a whole.
Ironic “we’ve had a shot” chants from Chelsea fans before HT were indicative of the way the half panned out for both sides.
With a place in the top four at stake for Chelsea this season, they could ill afford a slip-up here. Maresca will have been aware of that himself and he blinked first on the hour mark to introduce Cole Palmer and Pedro Neto.
It was the former of that duo who nearly made an instant impact, forcing Mark Flekken into a smart stop to beat away his curling effort. The Bees’ need for a winner was significantly reduced as they found themselves in mid-table obscurity, but they were still probing for a breakthrough and came tantalisingly close when Kevin Schade flashed an effort across the face of goal.
Perhaps surprisingly, it was Brentford doing a lot of pushing, once more coming close to an opener when Bryan Mbeumo forced a fine save out of Robert Sánchez before Wissa headed narrowly wide.
That proved to be as close as either side came to finding a late winner, as the game drifted towards its conclusion.
A draw means Brentford still haven’t won at home to Chelsea since 1938, but although the Blues have extended that impressive historical run, this game certainly won’t live long in the memory.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Keane Lewis-Potter (Brentford)