Brentford vs West Ham: The Bees were brilliant and dominant as they cruised to a 2-0 victory over the Hammers at the Brentford Community Stadium on Sunday.
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Bryan Mbeumo and Ivan Toney got the goals in a second-half display that matched the first’s dominance, but came with the kind of end product that earlier eluded them. It’s four victories in five Premier League fixtures for the Bees, who less than a month ago had slipped perilously close to the relegation places.
The victory sends Brentford (36 points) into 13th in the Premier League table, with the top half just one point away in 10th. West Ham (51 points), meanwhile, remain 6th, now six points behind 4th-place Tottenham. West Ham have also played one more game than Spurs already.
Brentford vs West Ham final score, stats, results
Final score: Brentford 2, West Ham 0
Goal scorers: Brentford (Mbeumo 48', Toney 64'), West Ham (None)
Shots: Brentford 15, West Ham 5
Shots on target: Brentford 7, West Ham 1
Possession: Brentford 47%, West Ham 53%
3 things we learned - Brentford vs West Ham
1. Toney, Mbeumo becoming a dynamic duo up top: In his last eight Premier League appearances, Toney has scored eight goals and assisted two others (Mbeumo’s goal on Sunday). In his last three Premier League appearances, Mbeumo has a goal and three assists (including Toney’s goal on Sunday) to his name. That combination up top, with the solidity and combativeness of the midfield and defense, makes Brentford an even tougher team to play against. Speaking of Brentford being tough to play against…
2. Brentford back to bully-ball (and winning): Typically, bully-ball conjures up images of a team that hacks and fouls all the time, injuring opponents a bit too frequently and, under no circumstances, are are they ever fun to watch. Brentford’s style of play under Thomas Frank flies in the face of all of those things, as they’re firmly mid-table in the discipline (yellow and red card) rankings and they’re highly interesting to watch (when the first-choice starters are healthy) because their style is such a throwback, though the Bees’ use of data, film review and collaborative thinking has helped them to optimize every press, possession, long ball and set-piece routine. Perhaps more than anything else, Brentford are brilliant at putting the ball in front of goal, where it’s dangerous and difficult to defend. Most sides in the Premier League aren’t built for the kind of battle the Bees bring to their doorstep, and that’s why they have five signature victories against top-eight sides Chelsea, Arsenal, West Ham (twice) and Wolves.
3. West Ham conserving energy, or running out of gas: It’s been a long, long season for West Ham already (the Hammers have played 47 across four different competitions, thanks to their Europa League quarterfinal run, with the second leg still to play this week), and it’s starting to show. (Brentford, for comparison, have played just 38). Throw in the fact that David Moyes doesn’t have a massive squad at his disposal (only 12 players have reached 1,300 minutes — less than half — in the Premier League), and it becomes an undeniable fact that you must pick and choose when to expend energy, and how much.
Brentford vs West Ham highlights
Bryan Mbeumo finishes from a tight angle for 1-0 (goal video)
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