Brentford, masters at getting the job done after going ahead

And then there were two.

As The Athletic’s Jay Harris identified last week, since Brentford’s promotion to the Premier League at the start of last season, they were one of only three sides who had not lost a game after going 1-0 up. Manchester City, Liverpool, Brentford.

Manchester City are no longer on that list, after they relinquished the lead in a dramatic derby defeat earlier on Saturday. But Brentford remain as reliable as ever. At home to Bournemouth, they never looked like going ahead until they did, when Ivan Toney won and then converted a penalty.

But once they had the lead, they never looked like losing it. “The first goal is not defining,” Thomas Frank said afterwards. “But it is important.”

Along with the various tactical things Harris listed, one factor obvious in this game was the simple fact that there’s less playing time in Brentford’s matches compared to other sides. Last season, Manchester City’s matches averaged the most in the Premier League, at 60:40. Liverpool were second, on 57:02. Brentford were down in 19th place, on 51:51. Only Aston Villa’s matches were shorter.

Much of that is because of Brentford’s style. They’re more direct than most. There are more hopeful balls which bounce out of play. There’s a greater emphasis on putting free kicks into the box, which involves pushing everyone — well, every outfielder — forward rather than taking a short one and keeping possession.

And Brentford are wily. Every side wastes time when required; Brentford are no more cynical than anyone else. But they’re also good at it. When they won a corner at the start of the second half, it took 45 seconds for Mathias Jensen to actually take it. When they won a throw in the left-back position, Ben Mee pretended he was going to take it, then changed his mind and left it for Vitaly Janelt. When Jensen conceded a free kick in the centre of the pitch, he didn’t kick the ball away, but passed it towards Yoane Wissa, who let the ball run past him, and out of play.

They waste time, but they waste time subtly. Well, apart from goalkeeper David Raya, who was booked with 20 minutes remaining for taking too long over a goal kick.

Brentford didn’t drop too deep, which would play into the hands of Bournemouth’s towering target man Kieffer Moore, and were probably more aggressive than usual with their defensive line.

But when they did have to defend the box, Brentford were excellent. During the period at 1-0, they won almost every aerial ball in their own box: Ethan Pinnock header, then Pinnock left-footed clearance, then a Raya catch, then another Pinnock header, then a Wissa half-block into the arms of Raya. And then, when Moore finally managed to get his head on the ball, Mee put him under enough pressure to put him off.

Clever substitutions is an area where Thomas Frank specialises, and that was key here. There were really only two significant changes (ie, excluding a first-half injury change, and those after the game went to 2-0). Bournemouth manager Gary O’Neil replaced left-winger Jaidon Anthony, who tired having been ill in the week, with Siriki Dembele, who was immediately dangerous with his dribbling, both through the middle and then out wide, when he cut in and tested Raya with a good shot, the only time the Spaniard was called into serious action.

Frank turned to his bench and introduced Mads Roerslev for Wissa; a right wing-back for a left winger. Brentford went to 5-3-2, and Roerslev effectively man-marked Dembele, who barely saw the ball from then. Bournemouth’s sole threat was nullified.

🅰 @joshdasilva_
⚽ Mathias Jensen

Clinical on the counter ✨@safetyculturehq pic.twitter.com/X5lP6c9WSi

— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) January 14, 2023

“It was a bit of that (Dembele’s impact), and also we were a little bit vulnerable in the half-spaces, they got down in there and they got crosses in.

“We were playing Vitaly Janelt at left-back, he’s normally not a left-back, and Kristoffer Ajer, a centre-back or right-back — he can play both positions — so it’s just the first time the two had played there, and the first time we’d changed to a back four in a long time. So the relationship is not 100 per cent, and we just know that in that low-block 5-3-2 we are almost — almost — unbreakable, no one is, but we do that very well.

“And we know that with Matty (Jensen) and Josh (Dasilva), and Ivan and Bryan up top, we know we would still be good going forward.”

And that’s the most important thing. Brentford don’t park the bus, they continue to attack. When they won a corner, they still pushed every outfielder forward. Their second goal didn’t come from the front two, but from the two No 8s — Dasilva pushing forward down the left and playing a measured cutback to Jensen, whose finish was wonderfully crisp.

Really, it was difficult to identify any other proper chances in the game, at either end. Brentford had two, and scored two. Bournemouth had none, and scored none.

“I don’t talk about defining games,” Frank said, tentatively. “But on the flip side I said this is a defining-ish game. A win today, home against Bournemouth, similar team like us, similar size club, we still need to make sure we are actually bang on in terms of concentration, in terms of intensity. We defended very well, we gave nothing away, and we got a clean sheet.”

And if you get a clean sheet having gone 1-0 up, it’s job done.

(Photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)