How Brentford's Keith Andrews finally bucked the ultra negative personal trend against Chelsea's Xabi Alonso

By Alessandro Schiavone at Gtech Community

Premier League Matchday 5

Brentford 3-0 Chelsea

Both midfielders. Both born in the early 80's. But there were miles between the footballers Keith Andrews and Xabi Alonso. In every sense of the word.

What Andrews could not provide in grace and flair, he made up for in spirit, grit and tenacity. Bite and spite. He was all thunder and fire.

Meanwhile Xabi Alonso was the type of footballer who ran the business without having to get out of second gear. His footballing brain, second only to the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Pirlo and Fabregas among the elite midfielders of his era, allowed him to play for star-studded Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Spain without ever looking out of place. And over five years, he was Liverpool’s best player after Steven Gerrard, a beacon in the darkness during Rafa Benitez’s tumultuous stint on Merseyside.

That same season when the Basque lifted the infamous Champions League with Liverpool in Istanbul, the Irishman finished a disappointing ninth with Wolves in the Championship. Nine years later, Alonso repeated the feat at Real Madrid while Andrews helped West Brom to a 10th-place finish in the Premier League.

When it comes to silverware, two-time European Championship winner and World Cup winner Xabi beats his counterpart 18-3. The gulf is cavernous.

Making matters worse, the Chelsea and Brentford managers had faced off three times during their playing careers. On all three occasions, the Spaniard came out on top, with Liverpool inflicting 3-1 and 4-0 routs on Blackburn Rovers in 2008/09. That was rounded off by La Roja’s 4-0 win over the Republic of Ireland at the European Championships in 2012.

But revenge is best served cold. History counts for nothing, and Andrews stepped into the Brentford-Chelsea fixture without a sense of apprehension or the weight of history weighing him down. This time there was no history to hide behind and no past to protect. Just a new chapter that began.

And there was no shortage of goals and spectacle as his well-oiled Bees machine broke the mould by dispatching Chelsea 3-0 a week ago at the Gtech Community Stadium. They even leapfrogged their west London neighbours in the table — and that after finishing a point above them last term.

Three tap-in strikes by Jaidon Anthony, Igor Thiago and Fabio Carvalho did the damage.

Unable to lay a glove on Xabi the midfielder, he got one up on Xabi the manager at the first time of asking. Last Friday night the Bees kept it extremely tight between the lines, put their bodies on the line and didn’t allow the visitors to play their usual free-flowing game by beating them to nearly every second ball. Those 'destroying' qualities were a reflection of Keith the footballer. All for one and one fot all. On top of that, the Bees were devastating in transition and technically 'perfect' before they went on to exploit Chelsea's spaces and sting with murderous intent when their legs began to tire. Panache, elegance, quick-thinking and control. Andrews has embedded some of Xabi’s key footballing qualities into his managerial repertoire, while the 2024 Bundesliga champion with Bayer Leverkusen could perhaps do with injecting some of Brentford’s never-say-die attitude into his Blues. From a 100% losing record in shirts, shorts and socks to a perfect one in the technical area. The inferiority complex is gone.

And long may it continue for high-flying Brentford!