Watch back the seconds building up to Brentford’s long-throw leveller, when Kevin Schade was winding up his arms, and you will see Marc Cucurella shouting at Alejandro Garnacho.
It was to get his backside in the box. Think you’re going to get away with watching everyone else defend this set-piece at the death in the hope that you can lead a counter-attack? Behave.
Specifically, Cucurella pointed towards the Brentford blokes at the back of the six-yard box, the precise area from which Fabio Carvalho eventually tapped in their equaliser unopposed.
So, yes, Brentford’s goal was avoidable, and yes, Garnacho cannot shake some blame.
The 21-year-old Argentinian, signed for £40million from Manchester United towards the back end of the summer window, was too focused on watching the first contact. He was not thinking what might happen if a Brentford head met the ball rather than one belonging to a team-mate.
Chelsea thought an offside might be in order, with their set-piece coach Bernardo Cueva arguing robustly with fourth official Lewis Smith that Dango Ouattara was interfering. Unlike when Fulham’s Josh King had his opener disallowed two weeks back, VAR was not kind this time.
Chelsea fans should judge £40m man Alejandro Garnacho on what he provides in attacking
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Chelsea set-piece coach Bernardo Cueva didn’t note vulnerability to Brentford long throws
Carvalho’s goal stood, and Chelsea were immediately mocked by United fans for the part played by Garnacho. Perhaps in their desperation for something – anything – to celebrate.
But it will take more than a lapse from an attacker who forgot to defend a long throw on his debut to determine that Chelsea were wrong to sign Garnacho for £40m in the summer.
This scenario happened time and again at the Gtech Community Stadium. Brentford launched long throws into the box, and Chelsea failed to track the player who had a clear path to the back post. The visitors cannot say they were not warned prior to Carvalho scoring.
It was not always Garnacho. It was others switching off, too, but he was the unfortunate one who happened to have not followed his opponent when it finally worked for Keith Andrews’ side.
Cueva likes to watch matches with a device in front of him, appearing to offer him multiple angles in real time. He is lively, often invading Maresca’s technical area when he wants to shout instructions to players. This being his area of expertise, the man hired from Brentford for around £1m last summer should have noted this vulnerability as the game was ongoing.
The plot twist is, when Cueva left Brentford for Chelsea, Andrews took over as the Bees’ set-piece coach. Now that he has succeeded Thomas Frank as a manager in his own right, the Blues will have known that he would try to hurt them from such situations.
Fabio Carvalho earned Brentford a point against Chelsea right at the death
Last season, Andrews even worked with a chap called Thomas Gronnemark, Liverpool’s former throw-in coach who helped Brentford on a freelance basis. Daily Mail Sport recently spoke to Gronnemark, who told us they became known as the most dangerous long-throw takers in the Premier League in 2024-25 and now, in 2025-26, they still see it as a way to cause chaos.
Chelsea discovered that here, and while Garnacho will need to accept his fair share in the responsibility for two points being dropped at Brentford, he was not the only reason for this draw.
Supporters could do with judging him more on what he provides in attacking rather than a momentary lapse in defending.
