LONDON : Brentford’s Fabio Carvalho struck in injury time to salvage a dramatic 2-2 Premier League draw with Chelsea in their west London derby on Saturday and stop Chelsea moving provisionally to top spot in the table.
Chelsea looked poised for victory after Cole Palmer, returning from a groin injury, scored an equaliser in the 61st minute and then Moises Caicedo struck in the 85th.
But Carvalho poked home the equaliser in the 93rd to the delight of the crowd at Gtech Stadium, scoring from six metres out after Kevin Schade’s long throw-in.
“Unbelievable. Everyone likes a last-minute goal. I’m just grateful I got it today,” Carvalho said. “Obviously it wasn’t a win but it felt like a win.”
Schade had broken the deadlock with the game’s first goal in the 35th minute when Jordan Henderson launched a stunning 40-metre lob just ahead of a sprinting Schade. The German cut inside Tosin Adarabioyo before shooting, with the ball deflecting off the inside of Adarabioyo’s leg and into the far corner.
Palmer had been questionable for Enzo Maresca’s team after missing two league games and England’s World Cup qualifiers due to injury, but he scored less than five minutes after coming on when Joao Pedro headed Enzo Fernandez’s cross into his path, and the 23-year-old swept home with a half-volley.
Palmer had another brilliant chance when he struck Pedro Neto’s cross from 12 metres out but he was denied by goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
“Everyone knows (Palmer) is so important for the team. He came on and changed the game for us,” Caicedo told Sky Sports.
Caicedo celebrated what he thought was the winner when he unleashed a rocket into the top corner from an Alejandro Garnacho cross, in Garnacho’s first game since Chelsea signed him from Manchester United.
But Brentford’s use of the long throw-in paid off with Carvalho’s late goal.
“(The long throw-in) has been here for numerous years, it’s not new to us,” Brentford boss Keith Andrews told the BBC. “That was probably the last eight to 10 games of last season, big Champions League games it was quite prominent and I felt it would probably trickle down the game.
“I felt there’s a little bit of snobbery in the game around scenarios like that, but if the big boys do it then it seems to be accepted.”
Maresca lamented the two points lost after his team had six shots on target – five of them in the second half – to Brentford’s four.
“It’s a shame (to concede late) but it happens,” Maresca told the BBC. “Probably we could manage that moment of the game better but in the end we concede and lose two points.
“We try to win every game but know we won’t win every game. It’s a shame because we conceded so late.”
