Brentford v Chelsea player ratings: Pinnock 8, Toney 6; Mendy 10, Lukaku 6

Blues have their goalkeeper to thank as they stay on top of the Premier League

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  BRENTFORD RATINGS: David Raya 6 - Couldn’t do much about Chelsea’s opener as Chilwell rifled the ball into the top corner. Looked confident otherwise. Reuters

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  Mathias Jorgensen 7 - Looked comfortable in the first half and didn’t have much to do in the second as Brentford took total control. Getty

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  Pontus Jansson 7 - Didn’t look phased by the physical against Romelu Lukaku, managing to clear the danger while the Belgian frontman had his back to goal. The centre-back will be wondering how he didn’t score with his volley failing to get past Mendy. AFP

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  Ethan Pinnock 8 - A danger from set-pieces with the centre-back able to flick on into space, coming close to assisting a goal for Toney. Unplayable in the air at times. AFP

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  Sergi Canos 7 - Delivered good crosses into the box that almost led to a goal, but picked up a silly booking for overreacting to a refereeing decision. PA

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  Rico Henry 7 - Worked hard up the flank and got his head to a crucial ball that was close to being converted from a Chelsea cross. AP

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  Mathias Jensen 7 - Looked tidy when dribbling and delivered the ball into some good areas. Unlucky not to get an assist with Ivan Toney who should have looked to work the goalkeeper from a dangerous area. PA

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  Christian Norgaard 7 - A clever cushioned header into the path of Mbeumo almost saw Brentford take the lead, but Mbeumo could only hit the post from the Danish star’s intelligent play. Reuters

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  Frank Onyeka 6 - Battled well in midfield and came back strong after looking like he was destined to be substituted with a head injury. AFP

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  Bryan Mbeumo 7 - The tricky forward was a problem upfront but the cutting edge wasn’t there on the night, striking the post twice from good opportunities. Reuters

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  Ivan Toney 6 - Strong in the air when Brentford went forward aerially but the newly-promoted side didn’t do it enough. Toney battled aggressively throughout the game and was unlucky not to be awarded a free kick on multiple occasions. Reuters

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  SUVS: Marcus Forss (Onyeka 67) 6 - Looked to get forward and almost punished Havertz for failing to clear his lines. Reuters

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  Saman Ghoddos (Canos 73) - Wasteful. Brentford’s best chance of the game was completely fluffed by Ghoddos. Reuters

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  CHELSEA RATINGS: Edouard Mendy 10 - That could be the best goalkeeping performance of the season as the Chelsea goalkeeper produced three saves from the top drawer to secure all three points for the Blues. A world-class showing. AFP

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  Malang Sarr 7 - Sarr hasn’t featured much in Thomas Tuchel’s side but you wouldn’t have known that. Despite a few moments of lost concentration, the young defender was called on a lot and dealt with the danger more often than not. AFP

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  Andreas Christensen 7 - The 25-year-old was the most experienced player in the Chelsea back three and showed it with a positive performance against a dangerous Brentford side. Getty

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  Trevoh Chalobah 7 - A direct ball led to the Blues best chance of the half and that summed up a confident display from the young defender. Enjoyed a physical battle against Ivan Toney. AFP

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  Cesar Azpilicueta 6 - Worked hard on the right flank and didn’t allow too much down his side. AP

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  Ben Chilwell 7 - Yet another goal for Ben Chilwell who blasted the ball past David Raya on the stroke of halftime. Getty

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  Mateo Kovacic 6 - The Croatian star was patient and kept the play ticking in midfield, rarely putting a pass wrong before being withdrawn. PA

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  N’golo Kante 7 - Kante’s movement going forward caused trouble for the opposition as the France international found space on the right flank, and it was a similar play that led to Chelsea’s opening goal. Getty

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  Ruben Loftus-Cheek 7 - Chelsea’s best player of the first half with the midfielder driving at the Brentford defence and winning a number of free-kicks. Getty

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  Timo Werner 6 - Tried to get things moving in the right direction but has to do better with his effort from outside the box that went high and wide of the goal. AP

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  Romelu Lukaku 6 - Had the ball in the net during the first half but was offside from Timo Werner’s pass. Chelsea’s front two have some things to work on as they look to develop chemistry in future games. Reuters

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  SUBS: AMason Mount (Kovacic 65) 6 - Helped Chelsea play quicker in the middle of the park but spent most of the game helping out the defence. Getty

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  Kai Havertz (Lukaku 77) - On for Lukaku but didn’t do much when introduced. Getty

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  Reece James (Azpilicueta 87) - On to help stop the flow of attacks from the Bees. Getty

Edouard Mendy’s stunning string of saves ensured Chelsea climbed back to the top of the Premier League, with Ben Chilwell’s strike sealing a nervy 1-0 win at luckless Brentford.

England full-back Chilwell’s second league goal in as many games pushed Chelsea back ahead of Liverpool in the standings – but Senegal stopper Mendy’s inspired showing secured the points.

Bryan Mbeumo twice hit the post for Thomas Frank’s impressive Bees, before Mendy conjured at least four last-ditch saves to deny Saman Ghoddos, Ivan Toney, Pontus Jansson and Christian Norgaard, who also saw an effort cleared off the line by Trevor Chalobah.

Brentford coach Thomas Frank was left stunned at his side's defeat by their west London neighbours.

"The last 25 minutes I think we totally dominated Chelsea, the European champions, and throughout the game we allowed Chelsea to have five shots," Frank said.

"That is crazy. It's unheard of when you are playing the number one in the league and the Champions League winners. That should give us a lot of confidence."

Player ratings from the match can be seen in the picture gallery above. To view the next image, click on the arrows or swipe if on a mobile device.