Goals from Julio Enciso and Ben Johnson have given the Blues a 2-0 half-time lead against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Town made three changes from the team which lost 2-1 at home to Wolves last weekend with Leif Davis, Jack Clarke and George Hirst coming into the team for Conor Townsend, Nathan Broadhead and Liam Delap.
Davis returned at left-back with Clarke ahead of him on the left with Enciso moving into the middle. Hirst replaced Delap, who hadn’t trained properly in the week due to a rib injury sustained against the Old Gold, as the number nine with all three players dropping out of the XI on the bench.
Omari Hutchinson remained out with his hamstring injury, while Kalvin Phillips was also absent from the squad due to the effects of his recent foot injury, with Massimo Luongo on the bench.
Chelsea made five changes from their 0-0 Premier League draw at Brentford last weekend and nine from their 3-0 Europa Conference League victory at Legia Warsaw on Thursday. Former Blues loanee Trevoh Chalobah started at the back for the home side.
Town, wearing pink, won an early free-kick, but Dara O’Shea was flagged offside at the far post.
On five, a promising Blues attack was stopped when Johnson accidentally caught Marc Cucurella with a stray arm, the former Brighton man making a lot out of not much.
From the restart, Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez played the ball straight out to Clarke 30 yards out but the ex-Sunderland forward blazed well over having taken a few paces towards the edge of the box.
The home side had made a scrappy start but in the eighth minute they almost took the lead via their first serious attack, Nicolas Jackson turning against the near post from an Enzo Fernandez cross from the right.
Moments later, Chelsea skipper Fernandez shot well over after a well-worked corner was played to him when completely unmarked. It was a fortunate escape for the Blues.
The home side maintained their pressure, O’Shea blocking a strike from distance, then in the 11th minute Noni Madueke was found by a deep Pedro Neto cross from the left beyond the far post and Blues keeper Alex Palmer did well to bundle his volley behind.
Chalobah shot low through to Palmer before some respite for the the Blues, Hirst winning a free-kick but O’Shea’s knock into the area was too close to Sanchez.
Chelsea quickly went on the offensive again, Madueke crossing and Levi Colwill heading towards goal, but Palmer batted it away. Town were unable to get the ball out of their final third but Cucurella shot deep into the Blues fans behind the goal, much to their delight with the Spaniard a pantomime villain among the Town support since the Portman Road fixture in December.
And the 19th minute, the 3,000 travelling fans had even more to cheer when their side went in front.
Hirst did well to hold the ball up, then swept it wide to Johnson on the right. The ex-West Ham man broke into the area and was allowed to cross low by Cucurella and Enciso deftly stabbed his first goal for the club across Sanchez and into the net.
The goal, which had come completely against the run of play and was the first conceded at Stamford Bridge by Chelsea since February 3rd, did little to change the home side’s approach with the pressure quickly restored.
In the 25th minute the game was held up when Jackson inadvertently caught Palmer with his knee after the keeper had cleared an O’Shea back-pass which had put the Town glovesman in a little trouble. After brief treatment, the ex-West Brom man was able to continue.
Two minutes later, Enciso, who in addition to his opener for the Blues scored a goal of the season contender for Brighton at Stamford Bridge in 2022/23, tried his luck again but this time his effort was scuffed well wide.
Moments later, Jens Cajuste struck a low shot not too far past Sanchez’s left post with the Blues increasingly looking the more dangerous side and Chelsea starting to lose a bit of composure.
And in the 31st minute, they doubled their lead. Hirst flicked on to Clarke, who fed Enciso on the left of the area from where the Paraguayan international sent a high ball towards Johnson, who nodded across Sanchez and into the net for his first goal for the club on his 50th Premier League start.
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As the Town team celebrated, linesman Constantine Hatzidakis raised his flag. However, the jubilation was only temporarily halted with VAR judging that Enciso was onside when the pass had been made.
The shell-shocked West Londoners set about putting the Town goal under pressure once again, Jackson looping a header well over, then Madueke shot wide from not too far out on the left.
Palmer got his name taken in the 38th minute for his relaxed approach to taking goal-kicks with the Blues continuing to withstand Chelsea pressure but with the backline defending resolutely, despite Cole Palmer seeing more of the ball for the home side.
Seconds before the announcement of four additional minutes, Moses Caicedo scraped a low shot wide of Town keeper Palmer’s right post.
Jackson lofted an early shot over Palmer but also well over the bar when chasing a ball down the middle in the final minute of time added on.
And that was the last action of a breathless half, dominated by the West Londoners in terms of possession, but the Blues when it came to goals.
Town had defended strongly while also riding their luck for most of the period up to Enciso’s well-taken and well-worked goal.
The Blues’ best spell was prior to their second goal, Enciso returning the favour to Johnson, with Chelsea continuing to dominate from there but looking more frantic and as if they had lost some of their belief in front of a frustrated home crowd.
As ever, a long way to go, but Town have put themselves in a brilliant position to record their first double against Chelsea since 1978/79.
The other Premier League scores at half time are Liverpool 1-0 West Ham, Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur. For live in-play betting visit 32red sport.
Chelsea: Sanchez, Chalobah, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez (c), Madueke, Palmer, Neto, Jackson Subs: Jorgensen, James, Gusto, Acheampong, Badiashile, Dewsbury-Hall, George, Sancho, Nkunku.
Town: Palmer, Tuanzebe, O'Shea, Burgess, Davis, Morsy (c), Cajuste, Johnson, Enciso, J Clarke, Hirst. Subs: Walton, Woolfenden, Townsend, Taylor, Luongo, Philogene, Chaplin, Broadhead, Delap. Referee: Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire). VAR official: Michael Salisbury.