Brentford
Chelsea Held 2-2 by Brentford After Late Equaliser in Stoppage Time
Blues draw 2-2 with Brentford after late equaliser; Caicedo had put Chelsea ahead in 85th minute….
Chelsea and Brentford finished level at 2-2 as a stoppage-time intervention denied the Blues a comeback win. Brentford’s five-at-the-back set-up, implemented by Keith Andrews, aimed to blunt Chelsea and exploit breakaways through Kevin Schade and Igor Thiago.
The Bees’ approach produced the opening goal in the 35th minute. A rapid counter saw Schade run onto a dangerous pass from Jordan Henderson and, when his effort deflected off the inside of Tosin Adarabioyo’s right leg, the ball ended up past Robert Sánchez.
Chelsea made three halftime changes, bringing on Marc Cucurella, Reece James and Tyrique George to try to restore parity. Tyrique George came close to scoring, only for Caoimhin Kelleher to produce a strong save. Cole Palmer was introduced in the 61st minute and would eventually get on the scoresheet; it was his first non-penalty goal since Jan. 14. Alejandro Garnacho was also introduced in the second half.
Moisés Caicedo turned the game in Chelsea’s favour with a goal in the 85th minute, and it briefly looked as though the Blues had taken the win. In stoppage time, however, Kristoffer Ajer flicked on a long Brentford throw-in and Fabio Carvalho tucked the ball in at the far post in the 94th minute to level the scores.
The match finished 2-2, Chelsea’s second draw in four to begin the season. Below are the Blues player ratings from the match.
Player Ratings (Out of 10)
- GK: Robert Sánchez — 7.2
- RB: Wesley Fofana — 6.6
- CB: Tosin Adarabioyo — 6.8
- CB: Trevoh Chalobah — 7.6
- LB: Jorrel Hato — 6.1
- CM: Moisés Caicedo — 8.2
- CM: Enzo Fernández (c) — 7.5
- RW: Pedro Neto — 7.0
- AM: Facundo Buonanotte — 6.7
- LW: Jamie Gittens — 6.4
- ST: João Pedro — 7.5
- SUB: Tyrique George (46’ for Buonanotte) — 6.2
- SUB: Reece James (46’ for Fofana) — 6.6
- SUB: Marc Cucurella (46’ for Hato) — 6.9
- SUB: Cole Palmer (56’ for Gittens) — 7.4
- SUB: Alejandro Garnacho (79’ for Pedro) — 6.4
Subs not used: Filip Jørgensen (GK), Josh Acheampong, Malo Gusto, Andrey Santos.
Brentford (5-3-2): Caoimhin Kelleher; Michael Kayode, Sepp van den Berg, Nathan Collins, Ethan Pinnock, Keane Lewis-Potter; Yehor Yarmoliuk, Jordan Henderson, Mathias Jensen; Igor Thiago, Kevin Schade.
Brentford subs: Hákon Rafn Valdimarsson (GK), Kristoffer Ajer, Rico Henry, Aaron Hickey, Frank Onyeka, Vitaly Janelt, Dango Ouattara, Fabio Carvalho, Reiss Nelson.
Brentford
Thiago and Maresca honoured for November performances
Igor Thiago named November Player of the Month; Enzo Maresca wins Manager award in November. Update.
Brentford striker Igor Thiago has been named the Premier League Player of the Month for November, while Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca took the Manager of the Month prize.
Thiago becomes the fourth different recipient of the Player of the Month award this campaign and the first Brentford player ever to receive the honour. On the recognition he said: “It means so much to me,” Thiago admitted. “I’m really happy to receive this because it means my hard work on the pitch has paid off.
“I’m surprised! But hopefully I can receive more of these this season. I’m so happy and proud of myself.”
The list of winners earlier in the campaign includes Jack Grealish for August (Everton), Erling Haaland for September (Man City) and Bryan Mbeumo for October (Man Utd).
Maresca claimed his second Manager of the Month award after Chelsea collected a league-high 10 points across November. The Blues beat Tottenham Hotspur, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley as they began to build momentum, and they salvaged a hard-fought draw with league leaders Arsenal despite playing most of that match with 10 players.
“This kind of thing, it’s because you do the right things,” Maresca reflected. “Performances and results were fantastic.”
The manager award returns to Maresca’s desk for the first time since September 2024. He is the fourth different winner of the Manager of the Month prize this season; previous monthly recipients are Arne Slot (Liverpool) for August, Oliver Glasner (Crystal Palace) for September and Ruben Amorim (Man Utd) for October.
Both individual awards underline a strong November for the recipients and their clubs. Thiago’s accolade is a first for Brentford at this level, while Maresca’s recognition follows a string of results that produced the highest points total in the division for the month.
Arsenal
Shortlists for November Premier League Player and Manager of the Month
Nominees for November’s Premier League Player and Manager awards, highlighting key performances. Stars
The Premier League shortlists for November have been published, highlighting individual runs that shaped the month.
Newcastle United winger Harvey Barnes closed November with three goals, two of which arrived in the win over Manchester City. Everton midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall delivered a memorable strike against Manchester United, also scoring against Newcastle and providing an assist against Fulham. Manchester City winger Jérémy Doku produced one of the season’s most eye-catching individual displays as he demolished Liverpool and helped Pep Guardiola’s side remain competitive in the title race.
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes finished November with four assists, creating goals against Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace. Morgan Gibbs-White enjoyed a three-game scoring streak for Nottingham Forest, firing home against Man Utd, Leeds United and in the away victory at Liverpool.
Chelsea defender Reece James featured in all four of the Blues’ Premier League matches in November. His assist in the 1–1 draw with Arsenal capped off a truly stunning individual showing in a month which yielded a total of three clean sheets. Arsenal’s Declan Rice added attacking impetus with a goal against Burnley and an assist in the north London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Brentford striker Igor Thiago continued his hot form, adding five goals across November with strikes against Newcastle, Brighton & Hove Albion and Burnley among them.
Managers with strong cases included Mikel Arteta after Arsenal’s unbeaten month, which produced wins over Burnley and Tottenham as well as draws with Sunderland and Chelsea. Unai Emery’s Aston Villa won three of four and emerged as outside contenders in the title race. Pep Guardiola’s Man City scored a league-high 10 goals in November, including the victory over Liverpool. Fabian Hürzeler’s Brighton & Hove Albion conceded once in four games, producing wins over Leeds, Brentford and Nottingham Forest. Chelsea went unbeaten under Enzo Maresca with three wins and a draw. Marco Silva’s Fulham recorded three wins over Wolves, Sunderland and Tottenham.
Recent monthly winners: Jack Grealish (Everton, August), Erling Haaland (Man City, September), Bryan Mbeumo (Man Utd, October). Recent manager winners: Arne Slot (Liverpool, August), Oliver Glasner (Crystal Palace, September), Ruben Amorim (Man Utd, October).
Arsenal
Arteta Challenges Rice to Add Long Throws After Brentford Example
Arteta urged Declan Rice to add long throws to his set-piece range after watching Brentford success.
Mikel Arteta has urged Declan Rice to expand his set-piece repertoire by working on long throws, citing the clear impact Brentford have made this season from that specific delivery. Brentford have scored three times from long throws this term, while Arsenal remain without a goal from that scenario despite their broader set-piece strength.
Arteta pointed to Michael Kayode’s influence and asked his midfielder to emulate the standard the Brentford full back has established. “A massive weapon,” Arteta said of the Italian’s throw-ins. “We all know that. It is a very chaotic situation—it is very difficult to predict what is going to happen.”
When asked why Rice does not yet deploy long throws to the same extent, Arteta offered a measured response on development and belief. “Who is [as good as Kayode]? Everything has to evolve. I don’t know how good [Kayode] was a year ago, or two years ago or three years ago. I know how good Declan was at taking set pieces three or four years ago and I know how good he is now.
“It does not happen overnight. Things have to be trained, evolved and tweaked. And the player has to believe as well, which is key. When you look at Declan, he can do almost everything you require him to do.”
Arteta’s comments come with some short-term fitness concerns. Rice, who has two goals and five assists in all competitions this season, was withdrawn in the 83rd minute of the meeting with Brentford after showing signs of a problem. Cristhian Mosquera added his name to a list of defensive absentees that already includes William Saliba and Gabriel. Arteta criticised the jam-packed schedule after the full-time whistle and was hoping Rice’s issue would not be serious.
Rice later reported no serious concern and made himself available for the upcoming game. In an off-camera meeting with Sky Sports News, Rice revealed he was “fine” and able to feature at Villa Park on Saturday.
