Chelsea goalscorer Joao Pedro believes aggression was key as his side struggled to Saturday’s 2-0 Premier League win over Brentford.
The Blues were a long way from their best against their west London rivals but gave head coach Liam Rosenior victory in his first league game in charge, thanks to some opportunistic finishing.
Pedro whacked the home side in front following defender Michael Kayode’s error in the first half before Liam Delap pounced on poor footwork from goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher late on to win a penalty, from which Cole Palmer made it two.
It marked a reversal of the trend seen often under former boss Enzo Maresca when the team controlled matches but wasted chances.
On Saturday it was Brentford’s turn to experience that frustration, dominating the second half but being picked off by clinical Chelsea.
“It’s been a while since we won a Premier League game,” said Pedro. The team had previously won just one out of nine in the league and had slipped back in the race for the Champions League.
“We didn’t play as well as we can but we won, secured a clean sheet and earned three points. That’s the important thing.
“When we play at home we need to show ourselves and be aggressive like we did. I think when you win you feel more confident, because we’re still in the race and we want to be as close to the top as possible.”
Pedro’s goal came in the 26th minute when the game was still finely balanced and came from a wonderful finish that appeared to take Kelleher by surprise.
It was the seventh league goal of his debut Chelsea campaign.
“We needed that goal and I want to score in as many games as possible,” he said.
Chelsea showed good spirit to dig in once Brentford took charge after the break, leaving Rosenior with plenty about which to be optimistic in what was his third game in charge.
“He has tried to help us do what he wants,” said Pedro. “I think we all tried to help each other on the pitch, running for each other to stop the other team from creating attacking opportunities.
“It was a tough game, but important to get the three points.”
Brentford boss Keith Andrews, whose team would have climbed into the top four with a win, was understandably frustrated that they failed to convert their dominance into goals.
“Sometimes the game isn’t fair,” he said. “You’ve got to take the chances you do create, control elements of the game a bit better. But the performance level was a high level.”
Asked whether he felt the sky was the limit for his side, he said: “I’m feeling it, I’m sensing it. That doesn’t come from a place of arrogance. I see them day to day growing as a group.”
