Brentford, Sep 14 (IANS) Chelsea were denied a battling come-from-behind victory by Brentford as Fabio Carvalho came off the bench to score a stoppage-time equaliser in a thrilling 2-2 draw, cancelling out excellent goals from Moises Caicedo and the returning Cole Palmer.

Chelsea looked set to take the points and move top of the Premier League standings for Saturday night after Moises Caicedo thundered in from the edge of the box in the 85th minute.

Cole Palmer – making his return from injury – had dragged his side level just after the hour, cancelling out Kevin Schade’s 35th-minute opener. It was the Chelsea talisman’s first goal since a penalty against Liverpool in May, and his first from open play since January.

Keith Andrews’ team came up with a leveller when substitute Carvalho bundled in from a long throw-in, in the third minute of stoppage time.

Carvalho’s late show means Chelsea now sit in fifth instead of first, while Brentford are 12th with four points from their four games.

“Delighted with the approach of the group, the character we constantly show. The equaliser came very late but it’s what I felt we deserved from the game in terms of the application, the quality the players showed for large parts. Inevitably they’re going to have periods where they’re on top but I felt we dealt with a lot of that really well tonight,” Brentford manager Andrews said.

Chelsea coach Maresca said, “It’s a shame [to concede late] but it happens. 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.”

Chelsea will put domestic matters briefly to one side as theor UEFA Champions League campaign begins with a mouthwatering trip to Bayern Munich on Wednesday evening.

The Blues then return to these domestic setup for another big away trip to Manchester United in the Premier League next Saturday.

–IANS

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