Alonso after Brentford loss: 'We were punished'

Xabi Alonso admitted Chelsea were punished for failing to sustain their performance levels over 90 minutes after a 3-0 defeat at Brentford, their second loss of the Premier League season.

Chelsea controlled the first half but were overpowered after the break. Jaidon Anthony broke the deadlock on the hour, and two late goals sealed the result for the hosts at the Gtech Community Stadium.

'I'm disappointed at the end with the second half and the result,' Alonso said. 'This is not enough to compete in the Premier League, not to be able to go for the 90 minutes. This is why today we were punished.'

The Chelsea manager pointed to a lack of consistency as the core problem. 'At the moment, we are not being consistent enough to compete during the whole game – 45 [minutes] is not enough, you need to play the whole game knowing each detail is important and each action can be decisive.'

Alonso was without captain Reece James and Joao Pedro, arguably Chelsea's standout performer this season, both sidelined through injury. He declined to use their absence as mitigation.

'It's not about talking or looking for excuses,' Alonso said. 'We need to look at each other and know we have to work and improve. There is still a long way to go, but we have to check many things.'