Chelsea won Liam Rosenior’s first Premier League match as head coach, securing a hard-fought 2-0 home victory over Brentford.
Joao Pedro opened the scoring in the first half with a powerful strike, and Cole Palmer added a second from the penalty spot after the break, giving Rosenior his second win in three games as Chelsea boss.
Brentford had the better stats, enjoying more possession, shots, and shots on target. They started well, with Kevin Schade and Mikkel Damsgaard creating chances, but failed to finish. Chelsea responded with Palmer curling a shot over and Joao Pedro breaking the deadlock in the 26th minute after a mistake by Brentford defender Michael Kayode.
Brentford pressed hard after going behind, with Damsgaard, Schade, and Mathias Jensen all coming close, and Chelsea’s Alejandro Garnacho missing an easy chance. Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez made a key save to deny Schade in a one-on-one early in the second half.
Rosenior made defensive changes to protect the lead, but Chelsea capitalized on a mistake by Nathan Collins. Substitute Liam Delap drew a foul from the Brentford goalkeeper, and Palmer calmly converted the penalty to make it 2-0.
Chelsea held on for a clean sheet and moved above Brentford into sixth place in the league, giving Rosenior a memorable first league win as manager.
