CHELSEA SUNK TO yet another dispiriting home defeat as Brentford inflicted a fifth consecutive loss on Frank Lampard with a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge.

The visitors led through Cesar Azpilicueta’s first-half own goal when substitute Bryan Mbeumo ran half the length of the pitch, unchallenged by anybody in blue, to slam home and condemn the hosts to a sixth winless game in a row on this ground.

The numbers are worthy of the crisis in which Chelsea find themselves. The team have scored one goal in their last seven games, and are winless in eight.

Such have Chelsea’s ambitions receded that a top-half finish in the Premier League from this point would rank as a success, but even that abridged, constricted dream appears vanishingly unlikely after this.

Brentford did not need to be spectacular, merely to wait patiently whilst Chelsea passed the ball about aimlessly in front of them, then take their only two chances of the match when they came.

Azpilicueta had not played since being knocked unconscious during the win here against Leeds at the start of March, and so it was cruel on the Chelsea captain that it was off his shin that Brentford took the lead.

Mathias Jensen’s corner got a flick from Mathias Jorgensen, and Azpilicueta knew little about it as the ball deflected off him and bounced past Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Not for the first time this season, Chelsea were booed off at the break. It will not be the last if performances continue in this vein.

Lampard’s predicament was encapsulated by the sight of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, frozen out under successive managers, emerging from the bench for the second half, and his introduction seemed to inject signs of life into Chelsea’s attack, a goalscorer at last amidst its ranks.

The striker looked desperate to make up for all those months lost sitting on the bench, if he made the squad at all. When Raheem Sterling nodded a far-post cross back across goal, his moment looked to have arrived, but as the goalkeeper flapped, Aubameyang’s header flew into the air and down onto the roof of the net.

Then the killer blow. Mbeumo was barely inside the Chelsea half when he picked up the ball, and hardly challenged as he advanced upfield and into the box. A limp leg dangled in his path by Fofana did little to impede his march, and Mbeumo crashed it left-footed inside the near post to bury Chelsea.

‘West London is ours’ sang the jubilant away support as their home counterparts streamed for the exit. The end of this wretched season cannot come quickly enough.

Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest gave their Premier League survival hopes a much-needed shot in the arm after beating Brighton 3-1 at the City Ground.

Forest were on a seemingly irreversible slide back to the Championship after a horror run of 11 games without a win going back to February, but they stopped the rot and moved out of the bottom three.

Another defeat had been on the cards after the Seagulls went ahead through 18-year-old Facundo Buonanotte’s goal on his first Premier League start after Brennan Johnson had missed an early penalty for Forest.

Jason Steele was on the bench for Brighton at Wembley and watched on as Robert Sanchez failed to save any United penalties in the shoot-out and he showed his team-mate how it was done, beating away Johnson’s effort in the 10th minute.

But an own goal by Pascal Gross on the stroke of half-time followed by second-half efforts from Danilo and Morgan Gibbs-White gave them a vital win.

Forest crucially got themselves level deep into first-half stoppage time when a nice move saw Taiwo Awoniyi set up Renan Lodi on the left and his cross was turned in by Gross at the near post, with Steele only able to get a hand on it.

Forest took the lead when Danilo did well to close down Moses Caicedo on the halfway line and then raced on to Awoniyi’s pass before slotting into the far corner to send the home fans wild. 

Any nerves were settled in stoppage time as they were awarded another penalty after VAR spotted a handball by Lewis Dunk from a corner and Gibbs-White did what Johnson failed to do by sending Steele the wrong way.

This will renew belief that they can avoid the drop in their first season in the top flight in 23 years and also probably ends any lingering doubts over Steve Cooper’s future.

Brighton were looking to bounce back from the heart-breaking FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester United, but this loss hurt their European ambitions as they dropped to eighth, but they do have games in hand on the teams above them.