Chelsea’s pursuit of a Champions League spot took a slight hit on Sunday as they were held to a goalless draw by West London rivals Brentford.
Manager Enzo Maresca shuffled his squad from the side that narrowly defeated Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 on Thursday, making five changes to the starting lineup.
Key attackers Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer, and Pedro Neto were only introduced in the second half.
Their arrival injected some energy into Chelsea’s forward play after a largely uninspired first half, but the visitors still struggled to seriously threaten Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken.
On the other end, Bryan Mbeumo and Sepp van den Berg nearly snatched a late winner for the hosts.
Despite the draw, Chelsea maintained their grip on fourth place in the Premier League standings, sitting two points ahead of Manchester City, who were set to take on Manchester United later in the day. Brentford, meanwhile, remained in 12th place.
