Chelsea new boys Jordan Henderson and Emiliano Martinez were involved in a war of words after Brentford‘s first goal on Friday night.
The Blues were schooled in a 3-0 rout away at Brentford as second-half goals from Jaidon Anthony, Igor Thiago, and Fabio Carvalho left them for dead.
Club legend Gary Cahill blasted them as ‘soft’ in the aftermath, with Chelsea having conceded 12 goals in their five Premier League games so far.
Martinez was signed from Aston Villa for £7.5million late in the window to seemingly fix their goalkeeper issue. Former number one Robert Sanchez conceded three on the opening weekend against Fulham and is now on loan at Como.
But the 33-year-old Argentinian has struggled to have the desired impact so far and Henderson voiced his frustration after Anthony’s opening goal.
Brentford scored far too easily from a corner, with Mikkel Damsgaard’s cross being whipped towards the back post before it was headed back across to an unmarked Anthony.
Jordan Henderson and Emiliano Martinez got into a heated exchange after conceding
Chelsea lost 3-0 against Brentford – and Jaidon Anthony’s opening goal was far too easy
Anthony was only loosely marked and Martinez was nowhere near as the forward headed in
Martinez was fairly static throughout the set-piece and Henderson appeared annoyed that the goalkeeper had not come for the ball.
But the fact that Anthony had found space to head home with three defenders in his vicinity raised alarm bells.
Henderson, meanwhile, had been marking nobody.
The midfielder, who was signed from the Bees for his experience and leadership qualities, also remonstrated with defender Maxence Lacroix at another point.
This was Henderson’s debut for Chelsea, having signed while he was recovering from a broken arm sustained on England duty.
Brentford now sit third in the Premier League and are still unbeaten, while Xabi Alonso’s side are seventh – and you can expect them to slip with nine matches still to come this weekend.
Former Chelsea captain Cahill told Sky Sports at full time: ‘There is a certain element of fragility.
‘Once they’ve conceded that set piece, you don’t want it to be a mindset but it is a “here we go again” type scenario.
Henderson and Martinez did appear to comfort each other in their full-time disappointment
‘I’m sure the manager will address it in videos and on the training ground. Obviously, as a goalkeeper and a back four, you feel a big responsibility when goals are going in.
‘The only way you can get out of that is by working hard together and making sure you’re harder to play against, and be more ruthless.
‘There just seems to be a kind of softness at the minute in terms of the way they concede goals. You have a few weeks now during the international break, although some of them won’t be there, but they will have time.’
Alonso is attempting to implement a back three with wing-backs, a system which has often been a risk in the English top flight.
Ruben Amorim, for example, could never get his back-three structure to work at Manchester United.
It does have precedent as being successful for Chelsea – fans will remember Antonio Conte’s 2016-17 title-winning season fondly.
The Blues were 3-0 down at half-time against Arsenal in their sixth game of that season, prompting Conte to switch to a back three, which he had never drilled.
They then went on a remarkable 13-game winning streak in the league, and won the title by seven points, proving that flexibility can be a key trait for a manager.
