WOW!! What Have I Just Witnessed?

2nd April 2022: EPL: Stamford Bridge: Chelsea vs Brentford

So straight off the bat I just have to say that I cannot believe how lucky I was to witness this incredible match and that’s not just because of the insanely awesome way the result turned out. I was lucky even to have a ticket as this match went on sale just as the sanctions against Abramovich, and by extension Chelsea, were enacted into law.

I had even bought myself a ticket to Derby County’s home match against Preston North End bought and paid for as a back up if I couldn’t buy a ticket to this match. Return train tickets to Derby had even been bought, by the time Chelsea’s special license was amended to allow them to sell tickets once more. Once Chelsea were cleared to sell tickets again I only able to secure myself a ticket to the match thanks to my uncle, who is a Brentford Season Ticket holder, who was able to secure one for me. I am never-endingly grateful to him for this as it was one hell of a match.

On the way to the match I had no real hopes for the match to be anywhere near as brilliant as it turned out. Chelsea came into this one sitting in splendid isolation in 3rd place in the table, with a 10point yawning chasm to the nearest of the top 2 above them but also a huge 7point lead over Arsenal in 4th and had a game in hand over them all. A haul of 59 points from 28 games so far this season is what leaves Chelsea in this spot and assured of Champions League football next season, barring a disastrous collapse in the final 11 games of the season. Even such a collapse may not see them drop out of the top 4 though with a healthy goal difference of 38 in their back pocket too.

No collapse was on the horizon either way as the hosts had not lost a league match since a narrow 1-0 loss away at the Etihad on 15th January. They had also not only lost a single home match all season and that was against Manchester City back on 25th September when they were still acquainting themselves with the new season and Tuchel was starting his first full season in charge of the team. He has done an excellent job at Chelsea with them only having lost 3 times all season at kick-off and having won the reverse fixture at the Brentford Community Stadium back on 16th October.

The Bees for their part were not in great form coming into this match, with a mid-season drop-off in form as other teams worked out how to counter their threats, Toney developed an allergy to the penalty area and both he and Mbuemo had injury problems taking them out of the team for periods of time. Since Eriksen has started getting minutes in the side though they have been rejuvenated.

Securing back-to-back wins first away against Norwich and then at home to Burnley, with Eriksen in the team, have helped subdue the relegation fears that were starting to creep into their supporter base. A loss away to Leicester City in their final match before the International break hit them with a dose of reality, but the previous two wins had pulled them up to 15th place and with an 8point cushion over the drop zone. Their minus 14 goal difference was also better than the teams below them too, despite it’s negative nature.

Eriksen had been truly incredible since joining the club in January helping to cure Toney’s penalty area allergy and providing much needed quality from set-pieces. He also provides the quality in midfield to spread 40 yard balls all over the pitch and the ability to provide assists from all over the pitch. His connection and chemistry with Toney will be vital for Brentford to secure the last few results they need during the run-in to maintain their Premier League status for another season.

Getting to the match is simple enough as all you have to do is get the tube to Fulham Broadway station on the District line. You head out of the special football exit at the back end of the platform, it’s like the secret exits they have at stations near the Notting Hill Carnival, then turn left and follow the road around the corner. The first 2 gates are for home fans, with the third gate being the away fans entrance to the stadium area, it’s a 5 minute walk to the away gate.

Changing at Earl’s court to get the Wimbledon train down to Fulham Broadway took longer than it normally should though as the train was delayed as we were ‘waiting for a relieving driver’. As I waited for the train to move I pointed a couple, one of who was wearing a Cambridge Rowing club jacket, towards the correct platform to get them to Hammersmith. I then spent the rest of the time chatting with other Bees’ fans on their way to the match and there was one thing on which we all agreed. Brentford’s chances of getting a positive result out of this match were not good at all though, as one of the blokes pointed out, ‘you never know’. A good point there.

One I reached my entry gate at the stadium I came across a protest against the proposed purchase of Chelsea by the Rickett’s family. I am vaguely aware of the reasons for this protest but I am absolutely not qualified to go into detail on the subject, so if you wish to find out more you are welcome to do research of your own into the matter. For my part I simply walked past them and up to the security stewards. They checked my plastic bag to ensure my books were safe to take inside and fitted within the A4 size limit.

My bag passed, as will most handbags, but for those which don’t pass the size test there are rudimentary bag drop facilities by the entry gates. Nothing on the scale of the bag drop facilities at the Etihad and Old Trafford though. I bypassed these and was proceeding to weave my way between the 2 hotels on one side of the road and the bar and restaurant for the prawn sandwich brigade on the other when the away coaches turned up requiring use of the road.

Once the coaches had passed me, I found my way round a lap of the stadium as I normally do. I did try the doors to the shop but they were securely locked to comply with the sanctions and this also meant there were no programs on sale around the ground either, which was to prove a nuisance later on once the match was underway. What there was around the stadium was a wall down the shed end that was plastered with banners of important players from throughout the club’s history, both before and after the money came in.

Continuing around the stadium you come across the millennium reception area, above the entrance to which there was a statue to Peter Osgood. I didn’t recognise the name, but after further research in the course of writing this blog it turns out he was an excellent striker who played for the blues from 1964 to 1974 and even managed 4 caps for England during this time. Above this statue is a vertical banner detailing every trophy that Chelsea have won throughout their history.

Moving further round the stadium silence descended on the area, as I slowed to a stroll. I found the museum and tour start point around the back of the stadium, by the Matthew Harding Stand, from which protruded a floating bridge connecting it to the stadium. Round the corner from this and on the home stretch back to the away turnstiles the stadium runs up parallel to a railway. You can’t actually walk alongside it though as it’s a cordoned off area for press and player entry to the stadium. For fans you have to head up the stairs and through a covered tunnel back to the Shed end.

Once back at the Shed end I made my way round the makeshift barrier of stewards, past another round of bag checks and then a security pat-down airport style before heading through the turnstiles. It’s only up 2 storeys worth of stairs before you reach the concourse of the upper shed tier and I four one was very glad that this was less than I had to deal with on my visit to St. James’ Park earlier in the season.

What I was not glad of though was the prices of the food when I got to the kiosks, it was £8.10 for a hot dog and a cold drink! As the bloke buying drinks next to me asked ‘Does it come in 24carat gold bottles?’ Needless to say I didn’t go back for more at half-time.

I was up on the concourse with an hour till kick-off, so I watched the end of Liverpool’s victory over Watford at Anfield that sent them top of the table for a few hours before heading to my seat. Whilst watching the match on the screen I was able to take down the starting 11’s and subs bench for both teams when they appeared on the bottom of the screen. Without a programme to tick off the teams on I had to write out the names in my phone and being careful to ensure I spelt their names right made it so much more time-consuming than normal. I was pleased to see that Eriksen was starting for the Bees as this was my first chance to see him in action and I was insanely excited to see him in action.

The teams were also announced later on the stadium tannoy one-by-one and shown on the screen simultaneously, but by that point I was settled in and just waiting for kick-off. That screen was far away at the other end of the ground perched on the roof behind the opposite goal and the top of it was still lower than the roof of the stand down the edge of the pitch. In point of fact, Stamford Bridge looks hilarious from the inside as not a single stand is the same height as the one next to it. The stands behind the goal are both shrunken versions of the ones down the side of the pitch.

I had found my place in the stands by this point and there was still easily half an hour till kick-off. I say my place and not my seat because as it turns out the Shed upper tier is all safe-standing, the home fans too. I know this because my allocated space was just 3 across from the divider to the home fans’ area and I could see them sitting on the seats provided whilst the safe-standing barriers went unused throughout the 90 minutes.

This was my second time in 2 matches that I was placed in a safe-standing area and whilst I used the seat to rest up during the build-up to the match and at half-time, I was spared the frustration of the barrier impeding my view of the 6 yard box during the match itself by standing the whole time. Having now experienced this way of doing things at 2 separate stadium I can state categorically that it works as a system and personally I prefer it the purely seat-focused model.

There was a pleasing sign from the host that they are trying to do their bit to grow the following for the women’s game in the capital as they announced 25 minutes before kick-off that their women’s team were hosting Reading at Kingsmeadow the next day. You could either pick up tickets for that match online or at the turnstiles on the day of the match, so I did. I went to the stadium the next day and watched that whole match, but after what I was about to witness in this game at Stamford Bridge it felt that the match at Kingsmeadow was played at full throttle, with both teams in reverse. For that reason I will not be blogging that match but I will return to Kingsmeadow at some point in the future to find a game I will blog.

Back to the men’s match today and I was enjoying hearing London Calling by the Clash over the tannoy as it’s an awesome tune, such a shame to hear it cut short with Park Life by replacing it. It’s not that I dislike Park Life but one things for certain, as a Londoner living up north I will take any chance I have to hear a song about London and it felt particularly apt to hear it at a match being played in London too. Hearing it cut short was annoying and didn’t feel for a good sign for the Bees chances in the match to come. Brentford were shooting towards the away fans in the second half though, so that would give them a chance of scraping a result if they were still in with a chance at that point.

That was were my head was as the game got underway, but within 2 minutes the Bees had already secured a freekick 20yards from the Chelsea goal as they shocked everyone in the stadium by putting the pressure on their illustrious hosts from the first whistle. The freekick was sent in on the curl by Eriksen, it was struck so exquisitely that I was amazed to see it skimming over the top of the bar instead of nestling in the back of the net. To see the Bees taking the game to the hosts so early on was brilliant to see from my spot at the other end of the stadium, but I would be happy not to see the ball up close for the rest of the half.

No such luck though as Mason Mount broke out on the right in the 5th minute, but before he could get a cross into the box Rico Henry got across and was able to block it behind for a corner. Joyously though Brentford were able to break upfield from the corner and Mbuemo was able to get a cross in from the left. He was aiming for Toney at the back post, but it was overhit and this destroyed the momentum of the attack.

Timo Werner was able to advance on the left for the hosts in the 7th minute but his ball into the box was hilariously close to Raya, who caught it with supreme ease. Werner slipped as he slapped the ball into Raya’s arm and he felt that he had been caught so he went down before appealing to the ref for a penalty. Thankfully the ref was on the ball here and waved away the claims. From this point Bees were able to set-up an attack of their own. Eriksen sprayed a gorgeous 30 yard ball out to Roerslev on the right and to see that quality on the visitors side was lovely. Unfortunately the resultant cross was behind Mbuemo in the centre and though it ran through to Toney his shot from 10 yards out was palmed behind by Edouard Mendy in the Chelsea goal.

Brentford solidified their dominance of possession as the first 10minutes of the game ticked over into the teens and they were now making the most of it too. They created presentable chances in both the 11th and 12th minutes. First Rico stood a ball up for an unmarked Toney at the back post, but he put his header inches over the bar. Then, after Roerslev was taken out on the right touchline the freekick into the box was tapped across the box by Toney before being deflected behind for a corner. The corner was taken short and when Eriksen whipped the ball into the area it was theatrically punched clear by Mendy before it could be turned home.

It took until the 17th minute for the hosts to manage a prolonged period of possession in the Brentford half but they made nothing from it and it was brought to a premature end by the host’s Marcus Alonso, who hooked it out from under a teammates foot and for a Bees throw-in. There was a break in play for everyone to catch their breath in the 19th minute as Ajer went down holding his ankle. Whilst he shrugged this off without physio aide, the delay was mainly to allow him to re-tie his laces. The delay was then extended as Mendy was down on halfway. I have no idea why he was on the halfway line, let alone why he was down on the turf and I was even more mystified by this incident as he was able to continue moments later without a physio ever going within 10 yards of him.

Having recently worked out how to keep hold for the ball Chelsea finally created their first notable chance in the 21st minute. First Werner tried to run straight through Christian Noorgaard in the visiting defence and when he went down screaming for a penalty no-one took any notice. His teammates went on with the match and eventually worked the ball out to Mason Mount 18yards out, but he smashed it high and wide of the left post. Not the result he would have been looking for, but it was at least a note of positivity for the home fans to hold onto.

That was the end of the Chelsea positivity for now though as Raya unleashed a 60yard ball out to Rico on the left and he played it off to Noorgaard inside him. Unfortunately there was no shot for the visitors here though as when he was fouled the freekick from Eriksen was easily cleared by the home defence.

The 26th minute began a period of the match that I have dubbed the whistle festival. The referee in his infinite wisdom began gives free kicks for even the slightest contact all over the pitch during this 5minute period. Starting with a freekick to Chelsea on halfway when a brilliantly timed sliding tackle from Ethan Pinnock nabbed the ball back for the Bees. He got all of the ball and none of the player, but when the Chelsea man slipped as he turned round in an attempt to get back on the cover the ref blew up for a freekick. This game him a taste for it as he proceeded to destroy any flow the game had from then until he got bored of this power-hungry nonsense at the match drifted past the half hour mark.

Chelsea almost took an utterly undeserved lead in the 32nd minute as Toney switched off whilst helping out the defence and Ruben Loftus-Cheek took full advantage of this to amble past him to the edge of the box. Thankfully his shot was one of the weakest I have ever seen and Raya was able to catch it without breaking a sweat but it provided a timely reminder to the visitors that, despite their dominance of the match so far, the hosts were not going away.

Having dominated the match to this point and only being unable to take the lead due to a lack of finesse on the finishing touches, Brentford seemed to feel that a goal would inevitably arrive soon and proceeded to switch off. Mbuemo and Toney were particularly guilty of this as they stopped making runs up front or closing down the Chelsea defenders as the visitors got sloppy in the final 10 minutes of the half.

During this time period Chelsea created a couple of chances of note, as well as putting a few corners straight into the first man and letting the Bees clear them unmolested. The first of these chances came from centre-back Antonio Rudiger who let one rip from 25 yards out. He shanked it 3 goals wide of the left hand post but it at least showed the home fans that he cared. It was not enough to get the home fans interested in cheering their team on though.

The home fans didn’t even offer any encouragement to their team when they actually managed their first shot on target with 5minutes of the half left. Loftus-Cheek gut inside on the right and flashed a shot towards goal with the visiting defence all at sea. Raya was paying attention though and threw himself at it just in time to get fingertips too it and send it over the bar.

This was the first time that either team had shown enough quality this half to threaten the opposition goal. Brentford had been on top for most of the half but were lacking that final spot of quality needed to take the lead and going into half time I couldn’t help but fear that the hosts would make them pay for their profligacy. Checking the screens on the concourse helped me relax though as I saw that my back up game at Pride Park was goalless too, so at least I wasn’t missing anything there.

The quality in front of goal could only improve in the second half though as not only would Tuchel get into his players at half time to improve, but I hoped Thomas Frank would be doing the same with Mbuemo and Toney to tighten up their finishing. Tuchel’s team talk seemed to be the easier to give of the two as the hosts were first out for the second half. The home fans weren’t too pleased to see them though as you could have heard a pin drop from 5 miles away at this point, that was until the visitors emerged though and the away stand erupted into an ear-splitting cacophony of noise. Whatever the content of the team talks though, neither manager felt the need to shuffle their personnel at half-time and we will see how this works out for them both as the second half gets underway.

Tuchel’s team talk did the trick as Chelsea started the half at 500mph and they got their reward for this new approach when they took an unexpected lead in the 47th minute. Rudiger had learnt from his sighter shot at the end of the first half and he made his shot from 25yards count this time round. He rifled as straight as a die off his foot and it beat the despairing dive of Raya to nestle in the top left corner of the net. It was an effort of such beauty to give the hosts the lead, but even this was not enough to stir more than a smattering of applause from the home fans. What it did do was give me a sinking feeling as Chelsea had started this half so well and now had a goal to show for it that I was worried Brentford had passed their peak in the match and would now go on to lose, despite dominating the first half.

I need not have worried at all because it took just 4 minutes for the Bees to level things up. The first thing I knew of the goal was the cheers all around me as I was busy making a note of a simple sweep home a minute earlier that Mbuemo saw blocked from the penalty spot. I worked out quite quickly that it was Vitaly Janelt who scored the equaliser as the fans all around me broke out into his chant ‘He comes from Germany and now he is a Bee, Vitaly woah, Vitaly woah!’ and I was so happy that the Bees were level mintues after conceding what I thought would be Chelsea’s winner that I became one of those chanting the loudest.

Vitaly’s equaliser sparked the home fans into life too as the shock of losing their lead so quickly after taking it shocked many of them out of their previous slumber. The stadium now finally had a proper match atmosphere. That atmosphere in the home fans was deflated rather quickly though as the Bees capitalised on the momentum of their equaliser to take the lead just 2 minutes later. This second goal for the visitors came from a Chelsea corner that was easily cleared out of the box and set the Bees on the break. The ball was fired upfield to Mbuemo on the left and with the choice of Toney or Erkisen to choose from in the box he decided to be a gentleman. Instead of going for goal himself he rolled it to his right instead and put it on a plate for Eriksen to slap home in acres of space a mere 6 yards from goal. Eriksen needed no second invitation and with the freedom of London he smashed it straight into the centre of the net.

That goal was Eriksen’s first goal in domestic football since his return to action after his brush with death last summer. I felt honoured and extremely privileged to witness this goal and I’m in no doubt that it will be the first of many in the remaining 7 games of the season. What Eriksen will do when his contract with Brentford ends this summer is anyone’s guess but, whilst I personally hope that Brentford find a way to keep hold of him for next season, it is obvious that there will be many clubs competing for his signature. He has elevated the play of every Bees player since he came in and will be a huge factor if they manage to stay up after their mid-season slump.

Back to the match and with Eriksen putting the Bees 2-1 up just 6 minutes after they went behind the atmosphere in the away end was beyond words. The chants were constant now and all were gloriously ecstatic. A favourite one of mine that made an appearance at this point was ‘We’re just a bus stop in Hounslow, bus stop in Hounslow’. That moniker for the Bees was originally a jibe thrown at us by local rivals QPR, but when we beat them convincing in a derby match in the before time pre-pandemic the home stands broke out in choruses of the chant to show that the truly dreadful QPR side couldn’t even beat a bus stop that day. From there it just stuck as a chant for Bees fans to break out into when taking the lead of game and I was stupidly deliriously happy to be able to sing it here.

Edouard Mendy was actually down on the turf requiring physio attention in the aftermath of the Bees second goal. Whilst he was able to continue after treatment he may have wished not to be able to do so as the match ticked past the hour mark. This was the time that Brentford chose to score their third goal of the match!!

You read that right, 13 minutes after going 1-0 down Brentford took a 3-1 lead in the match. Vitaly was played in down the left channel and with just the keeper to beat he chipped the ball over Mendy’s splits dive and his reaching arms. The ball nestled in the back of the goal yards from me and the atmosphere around me ramped up another 50levels. It was incredible to see Vitaly complete his first brace for the club but to see the turnaround from going behind to leading by 2 left me and everyone around me in shock. There were more that a few of us doubting our sanity and whether what we were witnessing was real of if we were all just in some fantasy dreamland?

In the aftermath of Brentford’s second goal Tuchel made his first substitution of the match, with Reece James replacing Marcus Alonso, and in the aftermath of Brentford getting a 2 goal cushion Tuchel made further chances. This time it was a double change for the hosts as Timo Werner and N’golo Kante were hooked off by Tuchel and Mateo Kovacic joined Romelu Lukaku in coming on to try and save the day for the hosts.

Chelsea had actually got the ball in the net for the second time in the match a minute before that double substitution. They bundled the ball home at the back post off a searching cross from the right but it was ruled off for either offside or handball, I didn’t see which, and Brentford maintained their 2 goal cushion. The buoyant visitors has also yet to make any changes of their own and having just taken unchallenged control of the game with 3 goals in 10 minutes, why should they?

Brentford made the most of their control of the match to set out on the attack once more in the 67th minute. Eriksen sprayed a 50 yard pass upfield for Toney to run onto, but the striker was unable to connect properly with this glorious pass. He was only able to hook it out for a throw-in next to the corner flag. Chelsea were able to nick 12 yards on the throw-in though, so they won’t have minded having it over a free-kick. The ref decided that this was a fair move from the hosts, perhaps feeling sorry for them after seeing them have their lead ripped out of their hands in such spectacular fashion.

The hosts were trying everything to score now and Rudiger even tried to execute a carbon copy of his opener, but this time he was only able to dtop it straight into Raya’s lap. The other thing that Chelsea were trying to thwart Brentford’s attacks was throwing in as many meaty challenges in midfield to break up play and give themselves a moment’s respite from the onslaught. The most egregious of these challenges came in the 69th minute when Rudiger steamed in to clear out Mbuemo in the centre circle, but even for this the ref refused to reach into his pocket. He had yet to show a single card to anyone all match as though they were poisonous and with the type of tackles that were now flying in this was a mystifying stance for the ref to have taken.

With Chelsea now getting so desperate you could sense it in the air from the far side of the English Channel the game opened up with both teams able to create opportunities. The 74th minute saw the hosts try to whip in a shot from 19yards out on the left but it slipped inches wide of the right post. From the goal-kick Brentford broke forward at speed through Mbuemo on the left, but this promising break came to nothing when Mbuemo tried to feed it through to Vitaly at the near post instead of floating it over to Eriksen at the back post. It would have been the simplest of tap-ins for Eriksen’s brace and Brentford’s fourth goal but such was Brentford’s control of the match at this point that Mbuemo took the harder path to the goal. which would have allowed Vitaly to complete his first hat-trick for the club.

That the move wasn’t finished off for the hat-trick is unfortunate, but it did nothing to dampen the party that had now erupted in the away end. The party atmosphere did not extend to the home end however, which was now in funeral mode. Toney came close to adding to the dichotomy in the atmosphere in the 76th minute as he directed a header goalward from Eriksen’s corner on the right. Instead of nestling in the back of the net though the ball bounced off the back on Mount’s oblivious head and away from goal.

Bees were truly on top now though and they were able to create another chance just a minute later. This time a corner from the right forced a game of pinball in the area. The eventual shot from 15 yards out deflected away for a corner off the body of a prone Ziyech. He was back on his feet for the resultant corner, which was easily cleared away by his teammates.

As the match entered the final 10 minutes the result was no longer in any doubt. Brentford were on their way to a historic win over their hosts, who for their part were on their way to only their second home loss all season. What was in doubt however was just how emphatic the win would be for the Bees as both sides went in search of more goals.

Chelsea were the first team to create a presentable chance in the final 10 minutes as they flicked a cross into the box from deep on the left. It got helped across the box by an unmarked Mount in the centre, when it seemed so simple for him to turn it into the net and set up a grandstand end to the game. Instead the finish was indicative of the rest of Chelsea’s match, sloppy and haphazard. Loftus-Cheek then added his own effort to the host’s haphazard back catalogue, by whipping a cross harmlessly over the pitch and out near the left corner flag for a goal kick. This triggered a trickle of early exits in the home stands. It was only a trickle for now, but it would not stay that way for long.

Brentford took the opportunity to make 2 substitutions, with Thomas Frank first deciding to give Vitaly a deserved rest and a chance to soak in a raucous standing ovation from the away end. He was replaced by Mathias Jensen, playing with Eriksen for the first time in a long time. Jensen was the man who replaced Eriksen for Denmark last summer after the incident, so to see them now playing alongside each other on the day that Eriksen opened his Bees account felt extra poignant.

The second substitution for Brentford saw Mbuemo replaced with Yoane Wissa to provide fresh legs up front for the final 5minutes. This worked out brilliantly for the visitors as Wissa scored their fourth of the match with his first touch. A cross was floated into the box from the left that looked at first like it would be a simple clearance for the hosts. However, one of their centre backs ricocheted it off the back of his partner and when the ball dropped to the feet of Wissa he needed no second invitation to slide it home under the dive of Mendy. Cue euphoria and cries of ‘we want 5!’ and ‘We’re just a bus stop in Hounslow’ in the away end and the earlier trickle of exits turning into a tidal wave in the home stands.

Brentford had taken what could have been a crushing blow of going behind in the second minute of the half and turned it into motivation to crush and humiliate Chelsea on their home turf. It is without a doubt the greatest performance of Brentford’s season and certainly the most incredible I have felt in a long time. I was so far away in dreamland after seeing Wissa slot away the Bees fourth that I didn’t even realise that Rico walking off the pitch was because he was being substituted and I certainly had no clue that Sergi Canos was the man replacing him. I only found this out after the match.

I was so in shock with the score and the incredible way that Brentford had turned the match around that I have no recollection of anything that happened on the pitch between Wissa’s goal and the tannoy announcing that there would be 4 minutes of added time at the end of the 90. The shock and jubilation that I was feeling was mirrored in the faces of my fellow Bees supporters around me.

Brentford came millimetres away from scoring their 5th of the match in added time. First a chip into the box by Roerslev from the left flew agonisingly high over the head of Toney at the back post and then the resultant corner was headed onto the roof of the net by Ajer. These were the final chances of the match for the rampant, swarming Bees before the ref blew for the final whistle and put Chelsea out of their misery.

Not only were Brentford incredible all match, but Chelsea were truly abysmal too and the home stands were completely deserted within seconds of the final whistle. The was no such mass exodus in the away end as we were all in shocked ecstasy and unable to leave the party. I even took the chance to break out into a little jig of happiness and then joined the rest of the stand in a ear-splitting standing ovation for the players as they came down to the Shed End to celebrate with us all.

At this point all I was aware of were the chants of my fellow fans and the fact that I hadn’t felt this high in my life. The chants were many and varied, but a few highlights include ‘4-1 in your own backyard’, ‘We’re just too good for you’, ‘ Champions of Europe, you’re having a laugh’, ‘We’re just a bus stop in Hounslow’ and for the brace man ‘He comes from Germany and now he is a Bee, Vitaly Woah oh ooh’. There did not seem to be a consensus chant for Eriksen as the chant that had filled the Goodison concourse at half-time of that FA Cup tie seems not to have caught on.

The rest of the chants continued on as us visiting fans poured out of the stadium and onto the trains at Fulham Broadway. I have never felt an atmosphere like it at the end of the football match, it just blinded me to anything going on around me to the point that I didn’t realise I had left the books I’d brought with me to the match under my seat in the away ends. An hour later I sat down for dinner in the Victoria area and only they did I realise that my books were missing, that’s how delirious the match had made me. I’ll tell you one thing four nothing though, the match was definitely worth travelling back down from the north for.

My next blog will not be nearly as joyous as this one was as I am heading to a match where I have no personal connection to either of the teams involved. The teams in question are Sheffield United and AFC Bournemouth and the stadium is Bramall Lane, see you next week for that one