Brentford pulled off a stunning derby victory by thrashing 4-1 Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Here’s how we rated the players. 

Chelsea

Edouard Mendy: 5

There was nothing Mendy could do about either of Brentford’s first two goals, but he should have saved the third, which was dinked through his gloves from a tight angle. The goalkeeper also required treatment for two knocks over the course of the 90 minutes, which will be a concern for Thomas Tuchel. But the big story coming out of Stamford Bridge this afternoon is the fact Mendy conceded four goals in one Chelsea game for the first time since 3 April 2021, against West Brom.

Cesar Azpilicueta: 5

Started the game at right-back, where he was barely threatened during a quiet first half. Azpilicueta was then moved to a more central position as Tuchel changed his system in response to a shocking 10-minute spell that saw Brentford score three times. Chelsea conceded again after the tactical shift, on what was a truly miserable afternoon.

Thiago Silva: 5

Silva’s calm presence at the back helped Chelsea weather Brentford’s early pressure, but he could do nothing as his side crumbled early in the second half. While none of the goals really came from an individual mistake, Chelsea’s defensive performance as a whole was truly awful.

Antonio Rudiger: 6

Rudiger sparked the game into life with a 35-yard screamer soon after half-time which he caught perfectly, smashing the ball in off the post to send Stamford Bridge wild but could do little to prevent Brentford running riot in the rest of the second half.

Marcos Alonso: 5

Adapted well to playing in Tuchel’s back four for the first time since January and had a solid first half. Alonso was replaced soon after Brentford’s quick-fire double – not that he was at fault for either goal – as Tuchel brought on Reece James to try and save the game.

N’Golo Kante: 5

Kante made his 250th appearance for Chelsea on Saturday, but things didn’t go the way he wanted. The midfielder did show an attacking side to his game early on, bursting into the box to take defenders on, but was sacrificed once Chelsea were 3-1 down to be replaced by Mateo Kovacic.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek: 5

Grew into his midfield role on a rare start, fashioning Chelsea’s first big chance on the half hour mark by dancing between three players before drilling a shot into the gloves of David Raya. But Loftus-Cheek still lacked the cutting edge needed to create a killer opportunity for those in front of him to score as Chelsea chased the game.

Mason Mount: 5

Mount often found himself playing as Chelsea’s fourth attacker, working in and around the box to support Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz. He had a couple of chances in the first half, volleying straight at Raya before trying to cut the ball to Werner for a tap-in when it looked easier to shoot. Mount was a bit of a passenger in the second half as Chelsea lacked the creative spark to wrestle the game back from their rivals.

Hakim Ziyech: 5

Played tight to the right touchline for most of the first 45 minutes and showed flashes of brilliance with tidy skills in tight areas. Drew a brilliant save from Raya with a dipping effort from 18 yards but like a number of his teammates, Ziyech offered very little attacking threat when Chelsea were 3-1 down.

Kai Havertz: 5

Failed to recapture the form that made him one of the first names on the team sheet ahead of the international break. He did have the ball in the net in the second half, but his goal didn’t count as he used his hand in the build-up. Tuchel will now have a headache over who to start up-front against Real Madrid, as the German was disappointing.

Timo Werner: 5

Couldn’t replicate his impressive performances on international duty as he struggled to combine with Havertz, his German teammate, to any effect. The pair started in Chelsea’s front three, but found Brentford somewhat harder to break down than Israel in midweek.

Reece James: 5

Made his anticipated return, replacing Alonso in the second half. James instantly picked up an attacking position on the right flank, camping around Brentford’s box, but couldn’t provide any late heroics for his team on this occasion.

Romelu Lukaku: 5

Lukaku was a passenger after replacing Werner at 3-1 down as Chelsea chased the game. Like Havertz, he struggled to make an impact, leaving Tuchel with a really tough decision about who to start ahead of the biggest game of the season against Madrid.

Mateo Kovacic: 6

Tuchel will perhaps regret not starting Kovacic, who impressed after coming on in the 65th minute. His first action was to slip Havertz in for a golden chance, but the German flicked the ball wide of the post.

Brentford

David Raya: 8

Great save from Ziyech just when it looked like Chelsea would make an early breakthrough. Handled the hosts’ attempts to recover with ease and was always a calm figure.

Rico Henry: 8

Always driving forward and looked very comfortable defensively for most of the game, even during Chelsea’s most aggressive spell in the latter stages of the first half.

Ethan Pinnock: 7

Occasionally caught out of position as Werner and Havertz pressed at times but otherwise comfortable. Fine partnership with Pontus Jansson continues to grow at the heart of the Brentford defence.

Kristoffer Ajer: 8

A great interception to deny Werner in the 52nd minute as Chelsea ramped up the pressure, which he coped well with.

Pontus Jansson: 8

Robust and made great interceptions to deny Chelsea chances, especially in the first half. Also kept Lukaku quiet when he came off the bench for the Blues as Brentford went ahead.

Christian Norgaard: 7

Composed, along with Vitaly Janelt partnering him in the Bees’ engine room. Brentford needed his guile protecting the defence throughout and the Dane did well to break up plenty of Chelsea incursions.

Christian Eriksen: 9

An excellent day for Brentford’s star man. Unlucky to see a first half curled shot go over during a busy spell for the Bees. However, the midfielder showed his class with a cool finish, clipping home in the second half to give Thomas Frank’s men the lead – and his first goal for the club.

Vitaly Janelt: 9

Fantastic afternoon for the midfielder. The German produced two great goals – the first a searing strike past Mendy, the second a calm finish from an angle. Involved in virtually every Bees move, pressing forward, with the team clinically taking their chances on the day.

Mads Roerslev: 8

Up against Werner in the Blues attack, the right back was alert during Chelsea’s periods of first half dominance. Plenty of no nonsense defending as Brentford protected their lead.

Ivan Toney: 7

A first half header aside, a comparatively quiet showing from the Bees’ talisman. However, the striker’s sublime pass set up Janelt for the third goal which killed off Chelsea’s chances of recovery.

Bryan Mbeumo: 8

Spurned a good opportunity to level when he shot straight at Mendy – but the attacker compensated in abundance with intelligent assists for both Janelt’s superb equaliser and Eriksen’s clever finish to put the Bees 2-1 ahead. A selfless performance.

Yoane Wissa: 7

The Congolese forward only appeared for a five-minute cameo near the end to replace Mbeumo. Yet his emphatic shot, taking advantage of Chelsea’s awful defending, was high class – and capped a marvellous afternoon overall for Brentford.