Chelsea 2-1 Brentford: Cucurella and Jackson fire Blues two points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool | OneFootball

Chelsea came out 2-1 victors over Brentford at Stamford Bridge on Sunday evening, with goals either side of half-time.

Enzo Maresca was adamant that his Chelsea side were adaptable, being able to adjust to the system that Brentford decided to employ and the Italian will be happy with his side's performance.

Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez were deployed on opposide sides to which they are used to, and the tactical tweak worked well for the Blues.

Chelsea dominated the opening period, with Brentford looking to hit the hosts in transition, but Robert Sanchez was never really tested.

Cucurella opened the scoring with a header in the first half to see the Blues take a well earned lead into the break.

Nicolas Jackson added a second in the last 10 minutes with a fantastic finish before Bryan Mbeumo got a late consolation.

Cucurella's goal came just moments before the half-time break to put Chelsea in the lead. / IMAGO / Action Plus

Chelsea began the more confident of the two sides, dominating possession and registering six corners in the first half alone, to Brentford's two.

Palmer was denied by Mark Flekken from outside the box before a succession of Blues corners.

One of the corners saw Cucurella wrestled to the ground, with the Brentford defender not looking at the ball but focused on his man.

Despite a VAR check, no penalty was awarded. The decision was met by bemusement from Maresca, his staff and the crowd at Stamford Bridge.

Cucurella got his revenge before the interval, as he headed his side ahead on the 43rd minute, getting on the end of a Noni Madueke cross from the right.

Chelsea should've been two ahead on the hour mark, with Nicolas Jackson somehow putting the ball over the bar from six yards out.

Jadon Sancho did brilliantly to beat his man on the left before pulling the ball back for Jackson, who had a simple tap in from an open goal, but the Senegal star somehow put it over the bar with a left-footed shot.

Jackson scored a fine goal with 10 minutes to go. / IMAGO / Pro Sports Images

Sancho's fine form continued in the second half after a quiet first 45 minutes, with the winger picking up the ball and producing fine bits of skill to dance past the Brentford defence.

With the Blues still searching for a second goal, Brentford appeared dangerous from set pieces, with Christian Norgaard denied by a fantastic Sanchez save after a cross.

Another chance came for the Bees from close range with 15 minutes to go, as substitute Fabio Carvalho's close-range strike hit the bar.

Despite Brentford threatening, it was Chelsea who netted the second goal, this time the Blues hitting on the counter-attack.

Fernandez picked the ball up from a brilliant Moises Caicedo tackle before finding Jackson's run, who switched the ball onto his right foot after a nice dribble before firing low into the right corner.

Brentford grabbed a well deserved goal late on, with Bryan Mbeumo finally beating Sanchez after skipping away from Levi Colwill and Tosin, meaning that the forward has scored at Stamford Bridge for the third successive season.

After the full-time whistle, Cucurella was dismissed for arguing with a Brentford player.