Igor Thiago scored his first Premier League goal of the season as unbeaten Brentford scored three times in the second half to beat west London neighbours Chelsea convincingly.

Brentford opened the scoring in the 61st minute as Jaidon Anthony was left unmarked to head home from a yard out after a deep corner had been nodded back across goal by Jannik Schuster.

Chelsea pushed hard for an equaliser but were hit on the counter-attack late on with Kevin Schade sent clean through – and while his tame effort was saved by goalkeeper Emi Martinez, Igor Thiago put the rebound into an empty net.

Substitute Fabio Carvalho added a third to stoppage to wrap up the three points that lift Brentford to third.

Meanwhile, Chelsea are now three league matches without a win – losing two of them – and have failed to score for the first time under Xabi Alonso.

The Blues shaded a forgettable first half with efforts Pedro Neto and Morgan Rogers the closest either side came to a breakthrough.

It was a livelier start to the second half but chances were still scarce until Chelsea failed to deal with a Brentford corner, Martinez deciding against coming for the ball, and Anthony nodded in his first Bees goal.

Chelsea pushed forward looking to level but for all their possession and territorial dominance, clear chances were not forthcoming and, with seven minutes to go, Brentford broke quickly and Igor Thiago doubled the lead.

The game was won but Keith Andrews’ side gave a jubilant home crowd more to celebrate in the final moments as Schade’s deflected cross was finished at the back post by Carvalho.

“I feel like I have played,” Andrews told BBC Match of the Day.

“It’s important that you enjoy evenings like this because you work so hard and there are so many tough days in this game.

“When you play against a west London rival, and you build up to a game and you go on a bit of a journey with the team, there are always bumps along the way, but we were in a really good place and it’s nice to see it come into fruition tonight.”

After such a positive start to the campaign with back-to-back wins and goals aplenty, things have quickly got tricky for Chelsea.

It is now three league games without a win, seven goals conceded in that time and 12 in total this season – plus another three in the Carabao Cup.

With those defensive concerns in mind, Alonso brought in Jordan Henderson and Valentin Barco to shore up the midfield, and for an hour it worked.

The pair were booed throughout by the Brentford fans, Henderson as a former Bees player and Barco for his antics with Argentina at the World Cup, but did a good job of winning their battles and looking after the ball.

But that added solidity seemed to come at the expense of the attacking verve that has been so evident early in the season.

Cole Palmer provided glimpses of his quality but the absence of the injured Joao Pedro was sorely felt, both before and after they fell behind.

For all they had Brentford penned in at 1-0, they struggled to create anything that could be considered a clear opportunity until the game was already lost while their frailties at the back resurfaced.

Three weeks without a game is not something any Premier League fan is looking forward to, but Brentford supporters can at least spend the forthcoming international break reflecting on their side’s excellent start to the season.

It is now six games unbeaten to start 2026-27 and, for now at least, they are looking down on all but Arsenal and Manchester City in the table.

“It’s amazing the way one game dictates if it’s an OK start or a really good start, but yeah, it’s been a good start,” Andrews added.

“We have been competitive, we have had to dig deep, we have had to show loads of different traits in the opening weeks of the season, which is what you always have to do in this league.”

As Andrews hinted at, one of Brentford’s biggest strength is their adaptability – finding the approach that is best suited for any given game or opponent.

On Friday, that largely meant keeping their discipline and picking their moments to hit Chelsea on the counter-attack.

For much of the first half, they struggled with the second part and yet they were rarely troubled with summer signing Schuster key at the heart of the defence.

The 20-year-old Austrian was invariably in the right place to snuff out Chelsea attacks, won his duels and even popped up with an assist at the other end.

Already he looks another shrewd signing.

At the other end of the pitch, there will have been a huge amount of relief around the Gtech when Igor Thiago calmly tucked away the second goal.

After playing a starring role with 22 league goals last season, the Brazil striker has looked short of confidence so far this campaign.

Having now got off the mark, the hope that he can kick on again when the league resumes in October. (BBC)