Thomas Tuchel has admitted that Chelsea were 'very lucky' to beat Brentford on Saturday evening, as the Blues had goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to thank, after he produced a string of match-winning saves at the Brentford Community Stadium.
The European champions took the lead through Ben Chilwell on the stroke of half-time, but they were then forced to withstand a barrage of attacks from the buoyant hosts. Brentford ended the match with seven shots on target and over 15 efforts at goal, but the visitors stood strong - largely thanks to their shot-stopper.
And Tuchel confessed that Chelsea were 'very lucky' to come away with all three points, praising his players for their display in the first 70 minutes, but stating that big characters such as Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger were sorely missed towards the end of the game.
"Very strong for 70 minutes, very lucky for 20 minutes.
"In the end the last 20 minutes were suddenly a cup game. They had nothing to lose and they found momentum. It felt like we had one player less.
