The cross came in from Noni Madueke and this time, it did not fly over the Cucu's nest.<br>
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Marc Cucurella met it perfectly for his first Premier League goal in Chelsea colours, Enzo Maresca's plan to pummel Brentford's box with balls finally earning them the breakthrough.<br>
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It set them on their way to moving within two points of Liverpool at the <br>
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top of the table, Nicolas Jackson scoring their second goal to give enough daylight <br>
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that Bryan Mbeumo's late strike was nothing more than a nuisance by the <br>
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end.<br>
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Chelsea can temporarily overtake their rivals next weekend, <br>
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by virtue of their trip to Everton being played before Liverpool take on Tottenham.<br>
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December 3, 2021 was the last time this club topped the table and when they weren't <br>
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chanting Maresca's name, you could hear the home supporters at Stamford <br>
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Bridge were singing: ‘We've got our Chelsea back.'<br>
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Maresca maintains there is nothing to see here, <br>
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mind. Just as actors will not speak the name ‘Macbeth' for fear it will <br>
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bring a hex upon their heads, neither will you catch Chelsea <br>
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talking of the title, their head coach reiterating here:<br>
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‘I don't think we are ready to compete.' And yet, Liverpool sense something wicked is coming their way,<br>
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even if they have a game in hand.<br>
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It is a team, managed expertly by Maresca, that took full advantage on a weekend when every other result went their way.<br>
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Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, they all faltered.<br>
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But Chelsea did not, even if Mbeumo did set up the nervy ending.<br>
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The only downside to this victory was in stoppage time, Cucurella <br>
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was shown a yellow card for a crunching challenge and at full-time, he was handed <br>
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another, with a one-match suspension incoming. ‘I asked <br>
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the referee and he said the second yellow card was for a "bad attitude",' Maresca confirmed. <br>
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Chelsea moved two points off the Premier League top spot after beating Brentford <br>
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2-1<br>
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Marc Cucurella stooped to head home the Blues' opening goal before half-time<br>
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Nicolas Jackson wrapped up a crucial victory after firing <br>
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beyond goalkeeper Mark Flekken<br>
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Brentford boss Thomas Frank was unhappy with Cucurella for dropping down holding his face <br>
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to win a free-kick in stoppage time, accusing him <br>
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of being a faker as he added: ‘I will say it to <br>
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Cucurella because I respect him massively.'<br>
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Cucurella's sponsors Puma partook of some damage <br>
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limitation after his two slips in their brand new boots led <br>
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to Tottenham goals last weekend, launching a campaign with the tagline: ‘It's not <br>
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how you slip, it's how you bounce back.' <br>
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As clever as that marketing stunt was in midweek,<br>
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Cucurella was not wearing the offending footwear here, which arguably said more.<br>
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Back in a version he hoped would keep him vertical, Chelsea's defenders refused to become <br>
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the latest team to let Brentford break through within minutes, as Manchester City, Tottenham <br>
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and others did. Instead, the best two chances of this spell fell to <br>
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Jackson.<br>
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First, Malo Gusto's cross led to a header which floated wide.<br>
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Then, Moises Caicedo's long ball in behind found Jackson, who <br>
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blasted the ball directly at Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken.<br>
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Brentford's best opportunity of the first half came after 29 minutes as Mikkel Damsgaard seemed destined to score, only for Levi Colwill to produce a <br>
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lunging block, à la John Terry. Chelsea's players gathered <br>
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to congratulate Colwill before arranging themselves for <br>
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the corner.<br>
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Chances came and went for Jadon Sancho and Madueke, who pounced on Flekken's loose pass but was denied when Brentford's goalkeeper made himself big.<br>
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Yet as per Chelsea's crossing plan, it was in the 43rd minute <br>
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when they struck.<br>
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The ball from Madueke was perfect, right into Cucurella's path.<br>
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The man with the curly mop gladly accepted the gift as he headed beyond Flekken, his first Premier League goal after 60 games.<br>
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It is quite the redemption arc, as the left back previously booed at Stamford Bridge <br>
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for being a £63million waste.<br>
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Cucurella's effort set Enzo Maresca's side on their way against the <br>
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battling Bees<br>
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His header bounced into the turf and found the far corner,<br>
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leaving Flekken helpless<br>
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Jackson raced away to celebrate in front of <br>
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supporters after scoring Chelsea's second<br>
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Robert Sanchez tipped over an effort from Christian Norgaard as late nerves set in<br>
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The most crosses managed by Chelsea in a Premier League match this season were their 23 versus Nottingham Forest. <br>
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The next nearest total was 15 against Manchester City. In the first half alone here, the statistics said they fired 17 balls into Brentford's box.<br>
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Though Madueke had provided the peach of a ball for Cucurella's opener,<br>
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he was having an otherwise frustrating night, too often surrendering possession. Pedro Neto was here <br>
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watching from the substitutes' bench, but suspended <br>
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after picking up five yellow cards.<br>
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When Madueke won a corner, Chelsea hoped for a penalty given Brentford's <br>
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box resembled a WWE ring. The refereeing team decided it was <br>
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six of one and half a dozen the other.<br>
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In the 60th minute, Chelsea should have been two-up when Sancho <br>
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cut the ball back into the six-yard box. <br>
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Jackson was waiting on its edge, the goal entirely open. Yet <br>
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he ballooned what should have been a tap-in, a real head-in-hands <br>
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moment which Chelsea fans feared they might be <br>
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lamenting on their journeys home. <br>
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Sancho then tried to walk the ball into the goal in the <br>
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67th minute, even rounding Flekken with fast feet, but <br>
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he took too long with the chance.<br>
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Brentford began to push for the leveller and in the 73rd minute, Christian Norgaard <br>
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thought he had it. <br>
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Fabio Carvalho rattled the crossbar from just several <br>
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yards out with his first touch<br>
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Jadon Sancho rounded the keeper but was unable to squeeze his effort into the empty net<br>
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Yoane Wissa denied Yoane Wissa from close range minutes before Jackson swept home<br>
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Cucurella was shown his second yellow card and was sent off after a final whistle <br>
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scrap<br>
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However, his volley was tipped over superbly by Robert Sanchez.<br>
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As nervous as Chelsea's goalkeeper makes fans with his feet, his hands are safe.<br>
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After 75 minutes, Jackson tried to seal the win, Flekken tipping wide.<br>
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Brentford went up the other end and with a cross of their own, Fabio Carvalho crashed the ball <br>
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into the crossbar.<br>
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But in the 80th minute, Jackson broke behind <br>
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on to Enzo Fernandez's bending pass. With Pinnock trying in vain to stop him, he found the bottom corner for 2-0.<br>
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Brentford made it 2-1 in the 90th minute, Mbeumo finishing a one-v-one.<br>
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Chelsea survived the late onslaught, though Cucurella was shown his two yellows amid the <br>
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chaos to slightly dampen spirits.<br>
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The cross came in from Noni