Chelsea handed £40m transfer hope in Brentford draw as angry Cole Palmer reaction speaks volumes

Cole Palmer scored on his return to the Chelsea side against Brentford (Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)

Enzo Maresca was visibly annoyed. The Chelsea head coach cut a frustrated figure throughout the first-half at the Gtech Community Stadium. Loose passes, players losing second duels and a lack of creativity left the boss pacing in his technical area.

Something needed to change. Something needed to be done.

It came as no surprise that Maresca turned to the bench at the half-time break. An incredibly strong bench meant the Italian was blessed with options. On came Marc Cucurella , Reece James and Tyrique George .

Cole Palmer , back in the squad after missing the previous two games with a groin injury, sat and waited. It was not long into the second period that Chelsea’s No.10 was called upon, however, with Jamie Gittens making way.

Almost immediately after being introduced, Palmer anticipated a loose ball inside the box and coolly finished, on the volley, into the bottom corner. That famous shivering motion met the away section that responded with "Palmer again, ole, ole" and "Sign him up for eight more years". Chelsea's star was back.

A game-changing substitute from Maresca. Palmer was pulling the strings - and so nearly had his second goal of the game after Pedro Neto put it on a plate for him. To tell the truth, Palmer had to score.

He didn’t, but it appeared that would not matter when Moises Caicedo thundered one past Caoimhin Kelleher on 85 minutes. The corner full of away supporters was sent into raptures, with Chelsea on their way back to the top of the Premier League table.

However, deep into stoppage time, Brentford, who did well to nullify Chelsea's threat for the majority of the game, found an equaliser. A long throw-in saw Kristoffer Ajer leap above a handful of Chelsea defenders and the ball then fell to a grateful Fabio Carvalho at the back post.

It was a point for Chelsea, but it very much felt like defeat. Plenty of positives from a Blues point of view, but equally, there is much to improve.

Palmer so close to perfect return

It felt inevitable. Chelsea needed a goal, on comes Palmer. Not 100% fit, but deemed ready to help rescue the Blues in their time of need. As he has so often done.

Just five minutes after coming onto the pitch, Palmer volleyed into the bottom corner and wheeled away in celebration to his adoring supporters. The equaliser ended a run of 1582 minutes without an open play goal for Palmer in the Premier League - his last one being against Bournemouth in January.

The goal was fantastic, but Palmer's performance was defined by more than that as well.

The positions he was taking up in and around the box occupied Brentford defenders and midfielders and allowed space for others. When he did get on the ball, he was always a threat, whether he was clipping a ball into the area or trying his luck from distance. There is never a moment's rest for the opposition.

It was so, so close to being the picture perfect return to action for Palmer. Chelsea's No.10 missed a gilt-edged opportunity around 14 minutes after he levelled the game. Neto did some fantastic work on the right-hand side and he teed it up to Palmer, whose shot was far too close to Kelleher. A good save, but one where he should not have had the chance to stop it.

Palmer's reaction spoke volumes. He knew how good of an opportunity it was. The 23-year-old was furious with himself; putting his head in his hands immediately after. Then, when the ball went out of play, the camera cut to Palmer, who was still reminiscing about the miss by shaking his head. Almost in disbelief.

There was another one for Palmer deep into stoppage time - even deeper than Carvalho's equaliser - where he skied it from close range. It was less of a chance than the first one, but still an opportunity you would expect Palmer to score.

Hopefully it was just a bit of rustiness and on another day he would have scored a hat-trick. That type of thing. Either way, it was a game-changing display from Palmer, who made Chelsea look close to the version of the world champions we know.

Garnacho's swift impact

Nobody thought we would see new signing Alejandro Garnacho from the start in Brentford. The 21-year-old, signed for £40million from Manchester United in the recently-concluded summer transfer window, had virtually no pre-season when at Old Trafford - with the Argentine being restricted to individual work prior to his move to Stamford Bridge.

So for Garnacho to come in from the start at the Gtech seemed farfetched. At the half-time break, the former United attacker was the only Chelsea player not out on the pitch warming up, so it seemed as if he had just travelled to be part of the squad rather than being viewed as someone who could come on and impact the game.

Maresca had different ideas, however, with Garnacho entering the pitch on 79 minutes. Playing on the left wing, Garnacho made an immediate impact, with his low cross into the box not being dealt with and it eventually fell to Caicedo, around 20 yards out, who smashed the ball into the back of the net.

It will be interesting to see whether Maresca sees Garnacho as ready to start on Wednesday night with Chelsea going to the Allianz Arena to take on Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Gittens has not impressed in the opening four matches of the season and while it is extremely premature to write the England Under-21 international off, Garnacho seems the more effective option for Chelsea at this moment in time.

Buonanotte unfortunate

Another new signing also impressed for the Blues, with Facundo Buonanotte playing the first 45 minutes in Brentford. The Argentine slotted into the No.10 role for Chelsea and looked extremely comfortable on the ball. Buonanotte was unable to penetrate the Bees’ defence, ultimately, but there were certainly positive signs.

His work-rate was top notch and that is something Chelsea clearly saw in him when making the decision to take him on a season-long loan deal. Plenty were surprised when that happened, but those same people were left a tad shocked when he was dragged off at the half-time break.

Buonanotte was one of three to leave the field for the start of the second-half, despite looking like one of the better players for Chelsea in the opening 45 minutes. Maresca, though, confirmed post-match that the decision was more down to the 20-year-old’s fitness levels than anything else.

"Facundo joined us two weeks ago," Maresca explained . "[His] physicality also is not 100%, so we needed to manage different situations."

Unbeaten start

Yes, that felt deflating for Chelsea. It felt like a defeat. But look on the bright side: Chelsea have made their best start to a Premier League season since 2021/22 under Thomas Tuchel , who was incidentally in Brentford watching the game on Saturday night, where they ended up finishing the campaign in third place.

On the balance, they probably deserved to win against Brentford. A slow first-half where neither side were excellent saw the Blues trailing, but they came out in the second period a completely different team. That has so often happened under Maresca, who knows just what to do to dig something out of these young players.

Unfortunately, dropping points against the Bees means there is more pressure for Chelsea to beat Manchester United next weekend. A trip to Old Trafford, after the Champions League opener in Munich, is one where lots of Chelsea supporters go in with a pessimistic feeling given their recent record in the red half of Manchester.