Enzo Maresca dismissed suggestions that he selected a weakened Chelsea team for the draw with Brentford on Saturday with the start of the Champions League in mind, while Alejandro Garnacho was slammed for “falling asleep”.
The Blues travel to Munich to take on Bayern in the first game of the Champions League group phase on Wednesday and Maresca opted to start Jorrel Hato and Wesley Fofana as his full-backs for the clash with Brentford, while Facundo Buonanotte played in the No.10 role.
With Chelsea behind at the break courtesy of a Kevin Schade goal on the counter-attack all three were replaced, as Reece James, Marc Cucurella and Tyrique George came on, before Cole Palmer entered the fray on the hour mark to turn the game around.
Palmer struck from a Joao Pedro knock down before a Moises Caicedo piledriver in the 85th minute looked to have secured all three points for Chelsea.
But a Brentford long throw in stoppage time fell to Bees substitute Fabio Carvalho at the back post to poke home and earn the hosts a well-deserved draw.
Maresca claimed after the game that Joao Pedro starting the game was evidence enough of his focus on the Premier League clash, before explaining what his side should have done better to secure the victory.
“Joao Pedro before the game told me he was not fit a hundred per cent, better he doesn’t play,” Maresca said. “If I was thinking about Bayern Munich, Joao (would be) on the bench. But he played because the focus was about tonight.
“If we want to play again Champions League next season, we need to do well in the Premier League.”
He added: “It’s a shame because we conceded in 93/94 minutes and we could manage better that moment.
“You have to be able to avoid transitions and set pieces – they scored from transitions and set pieces.
“It’s something we deal quite well with during the game, but in the end, we concede, and it’s a shame.”
Garnacho gave Chelsea some forward momentum after coming off the bench late on and was key to Caicedo’s goal as he ran down the left before delivering the ball into the box.
But the 21-year-old was also culpable for Brentford’s equaliser and Jamie Redknapp hit out at the £40m summer signing for “falling asleep” at the back post.
“They obviously made a few changes, Brentford, to try and chase the game,” Redknapp told Sky Sports.
“He brings on [Fabio] Carvalho, he brings on [Kristoffer] Ajer as well. With (Michael) Kayode going off who is throwing the ball with such height and pace, I didn’t even realise they had another long thrower in their midst with Schade.
“He launches one into the box, you can see you’ve got (Nathan) Collins and Ajer there, and what happens as it develops is this is the key battle here. Garnacho has got a job to do. He’s got to mark Carvalho.
“That’s your job, simple as that. Don’t lose him, you’re now one of the defensive players in here. If he gets in behind you, it’s on you.
“Everybody in there is trying to win that first contact, it’s not easy. Brentford have got some big guys. But Garnacho just falls asleep at the vital moment.
“The ball comes in from Schade, Garnacho’s not concentrating, they get that contact and there he [Carvalho] is at the back post.”