Brentford 2 Chelsea 2: Benítez unfazed by hostility from Blues fans
Brentford 2 Chelsea 2: Rafael Benítez says he is unfazed by hostility from the club's supporters after a draw in the FA Cup fourth round
Rafael Benítez says that he is unfazed by increasing hostility from the Chelsea supporters after the Champions League winners were held by League One’s Brentford in the FA Cup fourth round.
Brentford went ahead when Marcello Trotta fired past Chelsea’s second-choice goalkeeper Ross Turnbull three minutes before half-time, although Oscar restored parity shortly after the interval.
The home side appeared to be on the brink of a memorable cup upset after Harry Forrester scored a penalty with just 17 minutes remaining.
But Fernando Torres spared Chelsea a humiliating fourth-round exit, with the Spain international curling his 83rd-minute finish past Simon Moore to force a replay.
“I have said before that I am just concentrating on my job. I try to stay really focused and I can guarantee Juan Mata changed the game when he came on,” Benítez told BBC Sport.
“The club said they wanted a manager with experience and I will try to do my job.”
Benítez paid credit to his side for showing plenty of steel to come from behind and rescue a draw after a poor first-half showing by the Blues.
“In the first half we didn’t do what we had to do. We made too many mistakes, but I was really pleased with the reaction of the team after that. We showed quality and character.”
The Chelsea manager also felt the Blues should have been given a penalty after Brentford defender Harlee Dean appeared to handle Juan Mata’s effort.
“We were really disappointed with that not being given,” added Benítez.
“It was very, very clear but it is also very, very clear we didn’t perform in the first half. We were much better after that.”
