LONDON: Brentford’s Fabio Carvalho struck in injury time to salvage a dramatic 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 equalizer in the 61st minute and then Moises Caicedo struck in the 85th.
But Carvalho poked home the equalizer in the 93rd to the delight of the crowd at Gtech Stadium, scoring from six meters out after Kevin Schade’s long throw-in.
“Unbelievable. Everyone likes a last-minute goal. I’m just grateful I got it today,” Carvalho said. “Obviously it wasn’t a win but it felt like a win.”
Schade had broken the deadlock with the game’s first goal in the 35th minute when Jordan Henderson launched a stunning 40-meter 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 due to 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 meters out but he was denied by goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
“Everyone knows (Palmer) is so important for the team. He came on and changed the game for us,” Caicedo told Sky Sports.
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.
But Brentford’s use of the long throw-in paid off with Carvalho’s late goal.
“(The long throw-in) has been here for numerous years, it’s not new to us,” Brentford boss Keith Andrews told the BBC. “That was probably the last eight to 10 games of last season, big Champions League games it was quite prominent and I felt it would probably trickle down the game.
“I felt there’s a little bit of snobbery in the game around scenarios like that, but if the big boys do it then it seems to be accepted.”
Maresca lamented the two points lost after his team had six shots on target — five of them in the second half — to Brentford’s four.
“It’s a shame (to concede late) but it happens,” Maresca told the BBC. “Probably we could manage that moment of the game better but in the end we concede and lose two points.
“We try to win every game but know we won’t win every game. It’s a shame because we conceded so late.”
Late Carvalho goal earns Brentford draw with Chelsea
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Late Carvalho goal earns Brentford draw with Chelsea
- “Unbelievable. Everyone likes a last-minute goal. I’m just grateful I got it today,” Carvalho says
Messi dazzles as Miami beat Vancouver to win MLS title
- Argentina superstar Messi provided assists for two goals and helped create another to spark wild celebrations before a rapturous home crowd at the Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale
FORT LAUDERDALE, United States: Lionel Messi inspired Inter Miami to their first ever MLS Cup title on Saturday, playing a leading role in a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps in Florida.
Argentina superstar Messi provided assists for two goals and helped create another to spark wild celebrations before a rapturous home crowd at the Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
Miami took the lead after an early Edier Ocampo own goal but were left reeling by Ali Ahmed’s second half-equalizer for Vancouver.
But Messi then laid on an assist for Argentina international team-mate Rodrigo De Paul to put Miami 2-1 up before supplying the pass for Tadeo Allende’s injury time goal that sealed victory.
Miami’s first Major League Soccer crown provided glittering vindication for co-owner David Beckham, the former England and Manchester United star who had long dreamed of bringing success to Miami.
“There was a lot of sleepless nights, but I always believed,” Beckham said afterwards. “I always believed in bringing the team here, and when I found the right partners I knew anything was possible.
“We always promised our fans that we would bring success, and bring the best players, and today we’ve achieved that.”
Vancouver — spearheaded by German legend Thomas Mueller — had looked the likelier victor after recovering from Ocampo’s eighth minute own goal to level through Ali Ahmed in the 60th minute.
The Whitecaps almost took the lead moments after the equalizer, with Emmanuel Sabbi’s shot crashing off both posts in the 62nd minute as Miami escaped.
But with the Whitecaps in complete control, the Canadians were stunned when Miami regained the lead after a blunder by midfielder Andres Cubas.
Cubas took too long in possession and was robbed by Messi, who skipped clear before releasing De Paul to provide the clinical finish.
Vancouver never recovered from that hammer blow and Miami started the party in injury time when Messi played in Allende for the third to make it 3-1.
The win marks the crowning achievement of Inter Miami since the club — which entered the league as an expansion club in 2020 — successfully lured Messi to Miami in 2023.
Saturday’s victory also marked the end of an era for two key figures in Miami’s rise to the top of Major League Soccer, with former Spanish internationals Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets heading into retirement.
