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Chelsea have now gone eight Premier League away games without a win after being held to a 0-0 draw at west London neighbours Brentford on Sunday.
Enzo Maresca made several changes to his side from the XI that started their enthralling if draining 1-0 win over Tottenham in midweek, and this was to the detriment of their chemistry and intensity, with Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson's removals from the lineup felt hardest.
Brentford should have taken the lead midway through the first half when a Chelsea goal kick came immediately back the other way, with Yoane Wissa clipping a delicious dink in for Mikkel Damsgaard to take, only for the Dane to trip over his own feet with goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to beat. The shaky Sanchez was on hand to deny Keane Lewis-Potter from a corner as the disgruntled visiting fans made their discontent clear, chanting 'attack, attack, attack'.
Makeshift striker Christopher Nkunku was withdrawn at half-time - a decision greeted with cheers by the travelling contingent in the away end - for more of a focal point in Jackson. The Senegal international immediately gave the Bees some more problems with his physicality and saw a shot trickle wide within five minutes of his introduction.
Palmer and Pedro Neto were next off the bench, with the latter forcing a fantastic save out of Mark Flekken with essentially his first touch - a piercing strike from the edge of the Brentford box. Reece James then tested the Dutchman with a thumping header from a corner.
Late in the day, Sanchez came to Chelsea's rescue once more when the Bees broke at pace, and the Spaniard thwarted Bryan Mbeumo with a strong wrist to meet his shot. From the resulting corner, Sepp van den Berg headed over from point-blank range when unmarked.
With one final chance, Palmer took the ball on the swivel and fired narrowly over the crossbar as the game was brought to a close, and with the Blues now at the mercy of Manchester City two points behind them in fifth place.
GOAL rates Chelsea's players from the Gtech Community Stadium...
