In a focus battle in the 31st round of the Premier League that ended on the evening of April 2, Beijing time, Chelsea lost 4-1 at home to promoted Mabrentford, and Chelsea also suffered the first defeat in the last seven rounds.
In this game, Chelsea manager Tuchel unexpectedly changed his lineup, from the team's familiar 3-5-2 formation to 4-4-2, which also laid the groundwork for the Blues to lose in a cold way. The first half was uneventful, with both sides playing 0-0.
After the yibian re-battle, Chelsea took the lead in scoring. In the 47th minute, Chelsea ace centre-back Rudiger bounced into the net after a super long-range shot into the neutral post, giving Chelsea a lead. However, just when everyone Chelsea will have another affordable victory, the situation on the pitch has suddenly changed. Just three minutes after the Blues took the lead, Brentford relied on Jenelt to equalize.
After the draw, the morale of the "little bee" soared. Just three minutes later, Denmark international Eriksen scored his first goal since returning to the Premier League to help Brentford come back in. In the 59th minute, Jenelt scored twice to help the team rewrite the score to 3-1. In just 10 minutes, Chelsea suddenly collapsed.
Although Tuchel then dispatched troops to send Incosan Kovacic and Lukaku, the Blues not only failed to score, but conceded another goal in the 86th minute. Substitute Visa blasted a shot inside the penalty area to help Brentford secure the score at 4-1. In this way, the defending Champions League winner suffered a tragic defeat at home, which was also Chelsea's biggest defeat of the season.
After the loss, the Blues remain third in the table. But if Arsenal beat Crystal Palace in this round, the point difference with the Blues will be reduced to 2 points, and there is a good chance to counterattack the Blues to win the third place in the league. It can be said that Chelsea, which was once a solid top four, was also forced to join the Brutal "Scramble for Four" battle in the Premier League at the end of the season.