Enzo Maresca’s gamble could prove costly as Chelsea drop vital points in Champions League race

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Enzo Maresca (left) elected to start Cole Palmer on the bench as Chelsea’s winless away run extended to eight matches

Enzo Maresca’s gamble may yet prove to be an expensive one as his Chelsea team dropped vital points in the race for Champions League qualification.

Fresh off the back of the victory over Tottenham Hotspur that gave Chelsea some much-needed momentum, head coach Maresca decided it was time to juggle his pack for the trip to Brentford.

Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Pedro Neto all started on the substitutes’ bench, and Chelsea failed to find a winning goal.

Maresca sent on his cavalry in the second half, but it was not enough and these could yet prove to be two extremely crucial points dropped for the Blues.

It is now eight Premier League games away from home without a victory for Chelsea, which has piled the pressure on them to keep winning at Stamford Bridge.

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Enzo Fernandez huffed and puffed but Chelsea could not find a breakthrough at Brentford - Reuters/Ian Walton

It took the visitors 34 minutes to have a shot on the Brentford goal, which came shortly after the frustrated travelling fans had chanted ‘attack, attack, attack’ at their players.

Jackson pulled Chelsea’s best chance wide shortly after being sent on at half-time, while Mark Flekken saved well from a Reece James header.

But it could have been even worse for Chelsea, had goalkeeper Robert Sanchez not saved from Bryan Mbeumo, who had been sent through one on one, or Sepp van den Berg not missed with a header from inside the six-yard box.

Chelsea visit Legia Warsaw in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night, which is the game most supporters would have expected Maresca to rest his stars in.

More to follow.

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