Chelsea resurgence halted by Brentford, Nketiah grabs Arsenal hat-trick

LONDON : Chelsea's resurgence was brought to a shuddering halt by local rivals Brentford as Mauricio Pochettino's team suffered a demoralising 2-0 home defeat but Arsenal's strong start continued with a 5-0 rout of Sheffield United on Saturday.

After beginning the season poorly it had appeared Chelsea might have turned a corner with back-to-back Premier League wins over Burnley and Fulham before an impressive 2-2 draw with Arsenal.

But their well-chronicled failure to convert chances returned as Brentford won at Stamford Bridge for the third successive time since gaining promotion to the top flight.

A thumping header by defender Ethan Pinnock gave Brentford the lead in the 58th minute and, with Chelsea having thrown everyone forward, Bryan Mbeumo rubbed salt in their wounds with a second goal on the counter-attack in stoppage time.

Chelsea's fourth defeat of the season left them in 11th with 12 points from 10 games - hardly the sort of return the club anticipated when they spent a huge amount of money on new signings.

"The frustration is so massive," Pochettino said in an interview with talkSPORT radio, saying a strong first-half performance had given way to a lack of calm after the break.

"We need to be clinical and score more goals. This is what is missing... We need to keep believing."

Brentford's second successive win moved them above Chelsea with 13 points.

Manager Thomas Frank said he had spoken a few home truths at halftime after a poor first half by his side.

"I was disappointed with our performance and the first thing I said to the players (at halftime) was, believe, you're so much better than that," the Dane said.

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Arsenal began the day five points behind leaders Tottenham Hotspur after their arch-rivals