Brentford 0-1 Chelsea: Premier League – as it happened

• 7.25pm BST19:25 FULL TIME: Brentford 0-1 Chelsea
• 6.19pm BST18:19 HALF TIME: Brentford 0-1 Chelsea
• 6.16pm BST18:16 GOAL! Brentford 0-1 Chelsea (Chilwell 45)
• 4.34pm BST16:34 The teams
• 4.30pm BST16:30 Preamble

David Hytner was at the Brentford Community Stadium. His report has landed. Click below for joy. Thanks for reading this MBM.

Sky have a chat with Thomas Tuchel. “The last 20 minutes was suddenly a cup game ... they found their momentum ... suddenly it seems like we had one player less ... we were not clear enough in the challenges ... they had more belief ... we focused too much on defending ... I was happy with the first 65 to 70 minutes but we should have scored one more ... there is always room to improve.”

The match-winner Ben Chilwell speaks to Sky Sports. “It was very tough ... the last 20 minutes, we showed the mentality we need to show all season ... we knew this would be tough ... it was pretty much hell on earth! We’ve got [Mendy] to thank ... he makes big saves and won us the three points ... I’m happy with the goal but defensively we showed our steel ... it’s about mentality in these sort of games.”

Brentford hit the post twice; Chelsea scored from their only shot on target. How Thomas Tuchel’s makeshift defence held out isn’t totally clear, but hold on they did. The sort of grind that wins titles, and Chelsea go back to the top. This could be a big three points come the end of the season. As for Brentford ... they’ll take heart from a superb period of sustained pressure in the second half. Chelsea won’t look forward to coming back here next season.

The whistle goes. Chelsea survive! Brentford were excellent in the second half, but they come away with nothing. Ben Chilwell scored a fine goal during the last knockings of the first half, and Chelsea were nothing if not resolute in defending it!

90 min +4: The corner’s half cleared. On the edge of the box, Ghoddos sends a screeching volley goalwards. Loftus-Cheek blocks. James meanwhile takes the opportunity to go down. Time for more treatment! That the European champions have to resort to this. It’s a supreme compliment to Brentford’s push in this second half.

90 min +3: ... and as if to justify the decision, Norgaard sends an overhead kick towards the top right, only for Mendy to acrobatically tip over the bar!

90 min +2: Edouard Mendy is awarded man of the match by Sky’s Gary Neville, which tells its own story.

90 min: Brentford have had ten second-half shots to Chelsea’s one. But they haven’t found a way through. They’ll have four extra minutes to score the goal their efforts surely deserve.

89 min: James comes on for Azpilicueta.

88 min: Mendy takes his sweet time to get back up.

87 min: A clarification: Mendy parried Jansson’s rasper, but only with his startled face. Having taken a proper sock in the jaw, he goes down and the trainer comes on. Chelsea need this break.

86 min: Jansson has a whack from a tight angle on the right. Mendy parries at point-blank range! Chelsea are under siege! This is sensational pressure from Brentford. Chelsea are hanging on by their fingertips!

85 min: ... and then another long throw from the right causes even more bedlam. Norgaard has another blast through a crowded box but Azpilicueta is there to block and clear. This is a mighty effort by Brentford!

83 min: A cross from the left into Chelsea’s box. Sarr misjudges the flight. The ball breaks to Ghoddos, one on one with Mendy! The Chelsea keeper parries Ghoddos’s low drive. Norgaard has another crack, looping over Mendy and towards the goal. Chalobah clears off the line!

81 min: Chelsea slow it down a bit. Ping, pass, ping. Suddenly Loftus-Cheek dinks a ball down the inside-right channel, nearly finding Werner. Raya smothers at his feet. A two-goal lead would probably flatter Chelsea now, but the European champions were so close to taking one there.

79 min: Jorgensen’s long throw from the right causes more bother in the Chelsea box. The ball breaks to Forss, who shoots through a crowded area. The pinball could go anywhere, but it favours Chelsea and the visitors clear.

78 min: Brentford’s possession stat for the last five minutes: 86 percent!

77 min: Havertz comes on for Lukaku.

76 min: Toney and Chalobah compete under another high ball. The Chelsea man hangs out an arm and lightly tugs at Toney’s shoulder. Toney goes down and wants a penalty. It’d have almost certainly been given ... but Toney was an inch or two offside earlier in the move, and the flag goes up. Chelsea breathe again.

75 min: Brentford are so unfortunate! Ghoddos wedges a cute reverse pass down the right channel. Mbeumo strides into the box and sends a forensic effort towards the bottom right ... but the ball caroms off the base of the post and away! So close to an equaliser.

74 min: The resulting corner leads to some pinball. Chelsea half clear. Brentford come back at them. Mendy is forced to scamper out of his box to bash upfield, with his defence in a panic around him. Brentford are giving this a good go.

73 min: Jorgensen flings a long throw in from the right. Pinnock flicks it on. Toney meets the dropping ball and bashes a first-time shot into the ground and up towards the top right. It’s straight at Mendy, who tips over the bar.

72 min: Brentford make their second change, replacing Canos with Ghoddos.

71 min: Sarr and Toney come together as they chase a long pass forward. Toney goes over. The Brentford supporters scream for a penalty, but their man was the main aggressor and so we play on.

70 min: Werner and Lukaku make a nuisance of themselves on the Brentford penalty spot. Suddenly the ball breaks to Lukaku, six yards out. He must score ... but leans back and welts over. The flag goes up to spare his blushes; turns out Werner and Lukaku both took turns in mistiming their thrusts forward.

69 min: Sarr underhits another ball back to his keeper. Toney nearly nips in. Mendy comes out to clear.

68 min: Space and time for Jensen to the left of the Chelsea box. He pulls back for Toney, who takes a touch and ... well, he should shoot, but takes an extra touch, then tries to find Forss to his left with an elaborate flick. Chelsea crowd and clear.

67 min: Brentford decide to go for it, replacing the midfielder Onyeka with the striker Forss. “Pity we keep having these darned international breaks because it’s been a real stop start season,” writes Rick Harris. “Have to say Liverpool look like the team to stop but Chelsea are handling a difficult game today pretty comfortably. Been a lot of talk about Toney being a top PL striker but I can’t see it at the moment.”

66 min: A bit of space down the left for Lukaku. He crumps a dismal cross out of play on the other side. Turns out he was offside anyway, but still.

65 min: Chelsea send on Mount in place of Kovacic.

63 min: Werner sends a weak dribbler straight at Raya.

61 min: That’s got the home crowd’s dander up. Toney debates the non-decision with the ref. Meanwhile Mendy plays the professional game, taking a little sting out of the situation by taking his sweet time to retie his bootlaces. Azpilicueta eventually comes across to help.

59 min: That brief spurt of action has got the Brentford fans going, and the team have stepped it up a little bit. A long pass down the middle. Chalobah and Toney compete under it. Chalobah, on the wrong side, makes light contact with Toney, who goes over. He wants a free kick and perhaps a red card. But the referee’s not interested. There didn’t seem to be too much in it, and VAR isn’t minded to intervene.

57 min: Chalobah clatters Toney; free kick to Brentford out on the left. The set piece is sent into the mixer, leading to a corner on the right. The corner leads to some bedlam, Canos found in a little space to the left of the six-yard box. He wedges towards the far post, where a couple of team-mates lurk ... but Lukaku is back to assist his defence and eyebrows clear.

56 min: Sarr hesitates and for a second it looks as though Toney and Henry will make hay down the left. But Chalobah comes across to help his young mate out, closing the door, forcing Brentford to turn tail.

54 min: Canos goes racing after a long pass down the right. Sarr comes clattering into the back of him, but the referee’s not interested in awarding a free kick. The home fans howl in frustration, and no wonder: Chelsea have enjoyed 80 percent of the ball since the restart.

52 min: Chelsea are dominating possession, in complete control right now. They’re not really asking many questions of the home defence, but they’ve got their goal and seem happy enough to wait for Brentford to start taking some necessary risks.

50 min: Chilwell drifts in from the left before playing a reverse ball towards Lukaku on the overlap. Lukaku’s low cross, meant for Werner in the middle, is hacked clear. In an ideal world, Chelsea would have Lukaku and Werner switching places there.

48 min: Werner suddenly turns on the jets and zips into some space down the inside-right channel. The enterprise wins him a corner ... from which Kovacic sends the sort of kick more often seen at (fairly) nearby Twickenham high into the cool night air.

47 min: Chelsea enjoy some early second-half possession, stroking the ball hither and yon. All very patient. Brentford hold their shape.

Brentford get the second half underway. No changes.

Half-time reading. It’s going well for Chelsea’s men in the Premier League; the women are in the thick of the WSL battle too. Here’s Suzanne Wrack on the story of the season so far, and the team most likely to challenge Emma Hayes’ reigning champions.

Nothing comes of the free kick, Chelsea holding firm as they always do, and the players troop off for their half-time oranges. As things stand, Chelsea are going back to the top of the Premier League table.

45 min +2: A sickener for Brentford at a psychologically damaging time. They try to hit back immediately, Canos winning a free kick out on the right. A chance to fling something in before the whistle goes.

A bit of space for Lukaku down the right. A couple of stepovers and he’s in the box. He dinks wide left for Werner, who eventually returns the favour. Henry heads clear, but Chelsea are quickly back at Brentford. A cross from the right. Lukaku makes a nuisance of himself on the penalty spot. The ball breaks to Chilwell who creams a rising shot into the top left!

43 min: The throw leads to an up and under, which leads to a corner on the right. Mbeumo’s delivery is no good and is easily claimed by Mendy.

42 min: Toney and Mbeumo combine down the left, the latter threatening to burst past Sarr. The debutant defender stands firm to hoick out for a throw.

40 min: Werner never gives up, though, and he wins another corner down the right. Raya claims a cross with great confidence.

39 min: The ball’s at Werner’s feet again, just inside the Brentford box. He tries to lay off to Lukaku, who would have a tap-in on the penalty spot, but the pass is poor. Brentford whack clear.

37 min: A long Chalobah pass down the middle. Chilwell, on the edge of the box, heads down for Lukaku, who with his back to goal lays off to Werner. The Germany international opens his body and aims for the top right, but gets it all wrong. That was a real chance to work Raya at the very least.

36 min: Chalobah strides forward and rolls a pacy pass down the inside-right channel for Werner. Raya is off his line quickly and smothers, just before Werner can reach the ball.

34 min: Loftus-Cheek is caught napping to the right of the Chelsea D. The ball’s slipped down the right for Mbuemo; the resulting low cross is useless and easily snaffled by Mendy at the near post. Any decent delivery would have teed up Onyeka in the middle. Big chance spurned.

32 min: Onyeka wants a free kick after being brought to ground by Loftus-Cheek. He’s not getting one, so gets up and scythes straight through the back of the Chelsea man. He should really get booked for that, but in fact it’s Canos who sees yellow, for offering his trenchant analysis of the first challenge to the assistant referee.