Brentford were overcome by a pair of late goals as Chelsea advanced to the Carabao Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 win away from home.
The Blues took the sting out of the raucous home crowd with generally antiseptic possession to start the game, setting the tone for a first half with little chances.
Brentford sat in a 5-3-2 shell in their first competitive match in 12 days, waiting for a loose touch or pass from Chelsea’s unfamiliar XI.
At left wing-back, Rico Henry was the hosts’ most penetrative outlet, repeatedly haring past Xavier Simons to set up both Yoane Wissa and Mathias Jensen for close range headers aimed straight at Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Chelsea dominated possession and territory but struggled to carve out any opening of note. The Blues’ first clear sight of goal fell to their brightest newbie, Harvey Vale, as the first half drew to a close. However, the 18-year-old followed the pattern of the match by steering his header into Alvaro Fernandez’s grateful grasp.
A cagey first half was robbed of the intermittent bursts of Brentford breakaways as Chelsea firmly pulled up the handbrake after the interval.
However, the Blues continued to labour in front of goal themselves, eventually breaking the deadlock via Brentford’s own skipper. Chelsea’s substitutes combined in the final ten minutes to force Pontus Jansson’s own goal as N’Golo Kante wriggled around a flurry of flailing legs to tee up Reece James for a fizzed cross that found its way past Fernandez.
Christian Pulisic beat Brentford’s keeper to the ball inside the area just five minutes later, earning a penalty which Jorginho cooly converted to secure Chelsea’s passage into the final four.
