“I’m pleased he saved some goals for Brentford after he scored two for Denmark, I said that to him,” said Frank. “Christian is a top player, it’s an ongoing fairytale and I’m very pleased of course for that. What he brings to the team in terms of ability on the ball, calmness, we can always give it to Christian and he will find a solution, plus he will always provide goals or assists and what he gives to the team with his personality.
“From the beginning, I thought ‘ok he’s been checked, everything’s been checked in his entire body’. He didn’t have an injury like an ACL. When he took the decision he wanted to play in the World Cup, that determination when you take a decision ‘I want to come back into football’, I was actually not in doubt. I never knew how quick it would take to get up to this level, but it’s impressive. We are just pleased.”
The Chelsea fans, already worried what a future with new owners might look like, will not have felt great about Eriksen’s goal, but it is perhaps instructive of how his story has transcended club rivalries that he was not booed once on Saturday. Visiting former Spurs players would not normally be treated with such respect.
Eriksen’s goal was a good enough story on its own and yet it was part of an astounding comeback in which Brentford scored three times in 10 minutes and added a late fourth to take a huge step towards Premier League safety and embarrass the European and world champions.
“I would say we timed it perfectly to score at that end (where the Brentford fans were) four goals,” said Frank. “I think that made it even more special. In football, you work so hard, so many hours, every day, every week, every month, every year and a lot of times you maybe don’t think you get what you deserved, but today everything clicked. We managed to be part of a club, a team of fantastic players and staff members, and winning here at Stamford Bridge against the European and world champions, and it was well deserved, an almost complete performance, that’s a little bit unreal. A big moment for the club.”
After a first-half that Brentford had started brightly and missed two good early chances that fell to striker Ivan Toney, Chelsea made the best possible start to the second period.
Antonio Rudiger has been trying his luck from 35 yards for the majority of the season and finally it came off in the 48th minute, when he smashed a shot inside David Raya’s near post and ran to the touchline to celebrate wildly with head coach Thomas Tuchel and the rest of the Chelsea bench.
