Ben Chilwell kept up his scoring streak but gave all the credit to Edouard Mendy after the Chelsea goalkeeper defied Brentford with a string of vital saves, securing a valuable three points.
Chelsea's 1-0 win against their west London rivals came thanks to Chilwell's fine strike in the 45th minute, his third goal in his past three games.
Mendy produced six saves to preserve what Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel described as "not the cleanest sheet we ever had".
The shutout was Mendy's 20th in the Premier League from just 38 starts. In the competition's history, only Petr Cech (26), Pepe Reina (32), Alisson (36) and Roy Carroll (37) have needed fewer starts to reach 20 clean sheets, Opta said.
"It was pretty much Hell on Earth for the last 20 minutes but we did well," Chilwell said.
"I think we've got Edou to thank. In the last 25 minutes he was superb. He's amazing. We see it every day in training, but he's getting the credit he deserves in these sorts of games where he makes the big saves and gets us the three points in the end."
Using Opta's expected goals on target model, Mendy can be shown to have prevented 3.5 goals this season, more than any other keeper in the Premier League.
Chelsea lead the way in the Premier League with 19 points from eight games, just the start they were seeking as they attempt to follow up last season's Champions League triumph with a strong domestic campaign.
Chilwell, back in favour and showing his value with two goals for Chelsea either side of a maiden strike for England against Andorra, said: "I'm happy to get on the scoresheet. Defensively it was tough today, but we showed our steel and showed how strong we are defensively."
Tuchel told Sky Sports that Chelsea could have managed the last quarter of the game in a better way, rather than allowing Brentford to dictate the tempo.
Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo hit the post twice in the match. He has now been denied by the frame of the goal six times in the Premier League this season – more than any club in the competition.
"In the end, the last 20 minutes, it was suddenly a cup game. They had nothing to lose and they felt the belief and felt the momentum with the crowd," Tuchel said.
"Suddenly it seemed like we had one player less on the field. They brought six or seven guys into the box constantly. We were not clear enough in the challenges. They played with the energy like in a cup game. We focused too much on defending.
"I was very, very happy with the first 65 or 70 minutes. We should have maybe scored one more but it can happen – respect to Brentford in the end.
"It was not the cleanest sheet we ever had but very, very important to get the three points, so it was up to Edou."
Tuchel is not reading much into his team's lofty standing in the league table, given Liverpool and Manchester City are in close pursuit.
He said: "It's better to be there than the other way round. But it's too early, and there are way too many teams that are close, so with every draw and every loss you can lose three or four positions, so it's not the main point now in October.
"It was a late win but a deserved win today. We needed a bit of luck in the last 20 minutes but I'm happy with the energy – I can recognise us and I'm happy with the way we play."
Liverpool receive VAR audio of controversial disallowed Luis Diaz goal at Spurs
Liverpool have received the audio of the VAR review which led to a Luis Diaz goal wrongly being disallowed at Tottenham.
Miscommunication between VAR Darren England and on-field referee Simon Hooper led to the goal being ruled out in Saturday’s Premier League fixture.
Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) acknowledged later that evening that a “significant human error” had occurred, and PA understands the audio linked to the incident has now been sent to Liverpool by PGMOL ahead of it being released publicly.
PA understands the audio could feature in the next ‘Match Officials: Mic’d Up’ programme due to air on Monday night, if not sooner. But it is now understood the audio will definitely be released, it is just a question of when.
Liverpool are also understood to be appealing against a straight red card shown to Curtis Jones earlier in the match.
Diogo Jota was also sent off in the second half for a second bookable offence.
England and his assistant VAR, Daniel Cook, have not been selected for Premier League matches this weekend following the Diaz incident.
Officials involved in Spurs-Liverpool VAR ‘error’ not selected for this weekend
The two match officials stood down from duty following Saturday’s incident that saw Liverpool wrongly denied a goal will not be involved in this weekend’s Premier League fixtures.
Darren England and Dan Cook were VAR and assistant VAR respectively when a “significant human error” resulted in Luis Diaz’s effort incorrectly being disallowed for offside in the Reds’ 2-1 loss at Tottenham.
Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) on Sunday announced the pair had been replaced for their next matches – England was due to be fourth official that day at Nottingham Forest v Brentford, with Cook to be assistant referee for Monday’s Fulham-Chelsea clash, but Craig Pawson and Eddie Smart stepped in.
And on Tuesday, England and Cook did not feature as the Premier League released its list of officials for matchweek eight this Saturday and Sunday.
Simon Hooper, the on-field referee for the Tottenham-Liverpool contest and fourth official for the subsequent Fulham game, is to be VAR when Everton host Bournemouth on Saturday.
After Diaz’s 34th-minute effort at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, when the score was 0-0, was disallowed PGMOL put out a statement saying “a significant human error occurred” and that a goal should have been given but “the VAR failed to intervene”.
The PA news agency understands Liverpool have formally requested the audio from PGMOL of the conversation between Hooper and England related to the incident.
Liverpool issued a statement on Sunday night saying they would “explore the range of options available given the clear need for escalation and resolution”.
Francis Lee hailed one of Man City’s ‘all-time greats’ after his death, aged 79
Manchester City have hailed former striker Francis Lee as one of their “all-time greats” following his death at the age of 79.
Lee, who also had a spell as City chairman in the 1990s, died on Monday morning following a long battle against cancer. He scored 148 goals in 330 appearances for the club between 1967-74.
In a statement on their official website, City said: “It is with the deepest sadness and heaviest of hearts we announce the passing of former Manchester City player and chairman Francis Lee.
“Everyone at Manchester City would like to send their condolences to the friends and family of Francis at this very difficult time.”
The reigning Premier League champions described Lee as “a club legend in every sense”.
City said: “He won one First Division title, one FA Cup, one League Cup, a European Cup Winners’ Cup and two Charity Shields during a glittering eight-year spell as a player – a legacy that ensures his position among Manchester City’s all-time greats is secure.”
Lee, who began his playing career at Bolton, joined Derby from City in 1974. He won 27 England caps, scoring 10 goals, after making his full international debut in 1968 and appeared at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.
City added: “Franny passed away in the early hours of this morning after a long battle with cancer.
“His wife Gill and children Charlotte, Jonny and Nik say he will be sorely missed and would like to thank everyone for their kind words.
“Everyone at Manchester City would like to send their condolences to the friends and family of Francis at this very difficult time.
“As a mark of respect, flags around the Etihad Stadium and City Football Academy are flying at half-mast. More tributes from the club will follow in the coming days.”
Lee spent eight seasons at first club Bolton, scoring 106 goals in 210 games after breaking into the side at the age of 16, before City splashed out a then club-record £60,000 to sign him in 1967.
Bolton posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “All at Bolton Wanderers are saddened to learn of the passing of former forward, Francis Lee.
“The thoughts of everyone at the club are with Francis’ family, friends and loved ones at this difficult time.”
City sold Lee to Derby for £110,000 in 1974 and in his first match against his former club he scored a spectacular winning goal before helping the Rams lift the First Division title in his first season.
Derby said: “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of 1974/75 title-winner Francis Lee. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and all who knew him.”
Lee enjoyed huge success as a businessman following his football career – he retired as a player in 1976 – and sold his waste paper recycling company, FH Lee Ltd, for £8.35million in 1984.
After success as a racehorse trainer, Lee bought City from Peter Swales in 1994, but after being lauded by the club’s fans as a returning hero, his spell as chairman turned sour.
City were relegated to the second tier and were on their way down to the third when Lee resigned in 1998.
During his spell as a player with Derby, Lee was involved in an infamous on-field fight with former Leeds defender Norman Hunter and the Match of the Day footage is now a YouTube cult classic.
Lee, whose record of 10 goals scored in Manchester derbies was broken by Wayne Rooney in 2013, was made CBE for services to sport and charity in 2016.
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