Chelsea beat Brentford and move to within two points of Premier League summit

Chelsea moved to within two points of the Premier League summit as Marc Cucurella continued his remarkable ascent to score in a 2-1 win against Brentford at Stamford Bridge.

The defender was seemingly a symbol of Chelsea’s botched recruitment for much of his first two seasons after moving from Brighton, but like his team-mates this season he has been rejuvenated as Enzo Maresca watched his side without question insert themselves into the title race.

The head coach has repeatedly insisted his young squad are not ready to challenge but this was their fifth league victory in a row and, despite Fabio Carvalho striking the bar at 1-0 after Cucurella’s opener and Bryan Mbeumo jangling nerves with a goal at the start of seven added minutes, it was as commanding a one-goal win as could be hoped for.