Brentford responded well in the west London derby against Chelsea on Saturday to earn a 2-2 draw, with head coach Thomas Frank suggesting his side "battered" the Blues at Gtech Community Stadium.

He also cited that, on the day the Bees gained promotion to the Premier League in 2021, Chelsea won the Champions League against Manchester City in Porto, highlighting the gulf in resources between the clubs.

But that was not felt this or last season, as Brentford finished above Chelsea in the league last term, before taking four points from their two matches against their local rivals this campaign.

Forward Yoane Wissa said a few players spoke up at half-time to focus and regroup ahead of the second period. Although what was said would remain within the confines of the dressing room, it was clear to see it had a galvanising effect.

As Frank referenced with his comments about how well his side played at the Gtech, Brentford overwhelmed Chelsea after the break and turned the game on its head within 24 minutes.

An opportunistic strike from the impressive Mads Roerslev five minutes after the interval and a fantastic acrobatic effort from the inspirational Wissa spearheaded the comeback.

Roerslev, in particular, was essential to Brentford’s improvement, with their post-match heat map glowing particularly brightly high on the right side where the Dane was excellent up against Ben Chilwell and Levi Colwill.

Overall, almost 48 per cent of Brentford’s attacks came down the right flank, which is an area Frank potentially identified as somewhere to exploit Chelsea - perhaps because, in the reverse fixture, the Bees’ opening goal and the majority of their attacks stemmed from that side of the pitch, too.

To circle back to the Bees’ catalytic half-time talk, Brentford had only managed 0.43 expected goals in the first period, but that rose to 1.4 in the second half, with the hosts noticeably bolder in their decision-making and more intense in their overall play - Frank’s side also enjoying a six per cent increase in their possession stats after the break.

A key and important component to Brentford’s success over recent seasons has been the number of shots they take close to goal - and they certainly upped their goal threat as the game wore on against Chelsea. Before the break, the Bees had only managed six touches in the opposition box, but that had more than trebled by full-time.

Another improvement made by Brentford in their fantastic second-half display against the Blues mirrored an area they have notably improved upon in 2024.

Against their west London rivals, Brentford mustered just one shot on target in the opening 45 minutes, but fired in four after the break.

There are clear parallels here with the Bees - who had the best shots-on-target percentage in the division (37 per cent) last season - rediscovering their accuracy in front of goal this term: their current SOT percentage standing at 33 after dipping below 30 before the turn of the year.

If the Bees can bottle the response to what was said by Wissa and co at the break, we can look forward to seeing more impressive displays between now and the end of the season.