LONDON : Brentford’s Fabio Carvalho struck in injury time to salvage a 2-2 Premier League draw with Chelsea in their west London derby on Saturday and stop Chelsea moving provisionally to top spot in the table.
Chelsea looked poised for victory after Cole Palmer, returning from a groin injury, scored an equaliser in the 61st minute and then Moises Caicedo struck in the 85th.
But Carvalho poked home the equaliser in the 93rd to the delight of the crowd at Gtech Stadium, scoring from six metres out after Kevin Schade’s long throw-in.
“Obviously it wasn’t a win but it felt like a win,” Carvalho told Sky Sports.
Schade had broken the deadlock with the game’s first goal in the 35th minute when Jordan Henderson launched a stunning 40-metre lob just ahead of a sprinting Schade. The German cut inside Tosin Adarabioyo before shooting, with the ball deflecting off the inside of Adarabioyo’s leg and into the far corner.
Palmer had been questionable for Enzo Maresca’s team after missing two league games and England’s World Cup qualifiers with a groin injury, but he scored less than five minutes after coming on when Joao Pedro headed Enzo Fernandez’s cross into his path, and the 23-year-old swept home with a half-volley.
Palmer had another brilliant chance when he struck Pedro Neto’s cross from 12 metres out but he was denied by goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Caicedo celebrated what he thought was the winner when he unleashed a rocket into the top corner from an Alejandro Garnacho cross, in Garnacho’s first game since Chelsea signed him from Manchester United.
Chelsea had six shots on target – five of them in the second half – to Brentford’s four.
