Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa — Brentford’s new (and old) dynamic duo — scored all three of the Bees’ goals as they beat Southampton 3-1 at Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.
WATCH BRENTFORD v SOUTHAMPTON FULL MATCH REPLAY
That’s two wins from three games for Brentford, who beat Crystal Palace on opening day before losing to Liverpool (but acquitting themselves well) last weekend, marking a strong start to the post-Ivan Toney era. Toney, who joined Saudi side Al-Ahli on transfer deadline day, was in the building for one last farewell as Mbeumo and Wissa once again carried the scoring load — just as they did during Toney’s lengthy suspension last season.
Southampton nearly made it to halftime at 0-0, matching Brentford chance-for-chance until the Bees’ relentless high press finally succeeded. Mbeumo cleaned up Kevin Schade’s rebound off the front side of the post to make it 1-0 in the 43rd minute and was once again in the right place at the right time when Saints gave it away deep in their own end in the 65th. Wissa made it 3-0 by bundling Mathias Jensen’s long throw over the line a few minutes later.
On the other side, it’s three defeats in three games for Southampton, who for the first time were beaten by multiple goals and looked miles off where they need to be to stay in the PL. Saints did, however, get their first goal of the season, as Yukinari Sugawara scored to cap a brilliant passing move down the right side of attack with an outside-of-the-foot finish.
When Playing It out of the Back Goes Wrong - South Coast Edition
This is going to be a very long season for Southampton if they, as a newly promoted side, keep trying to play the ball short and pass through opposing presses at the highest level of the sport. That much should be obvious to anyone who watched Burnley last season. Southampton clearly want to be positive with their limited possession, but perhaps there is a better time and place for it than away to Brentford.
Regardless of opponent, Brentford always want the other team to pass the ball out of the back, because they think they can press them into mistakes and easy scoring chances for themselves. In fact, Thomas Frank’s team has done it as well as anyone in the PL for years now, pressing their way to victories against most of the big boys at some point and establishing themselves as part of the PL furniture. The first and second goals were direct results of Playing It out of the Back Going Wrong, and the first one came less than 30 seconds after another instance of Saints losing the ball just outside their penalty area before resuming regular service and doing it again after the restart. This time, the Bees eventually put the chance away.
Player ratings - Brentford vs Southampton
Brentford vs Southampton updates, highlights & final score: 3-1
Goalscorers: Bryan Mbeumo (43', 65'), Yoane Wissa (69'), Yukinari Sugawara (90'+4)
GOAL! Brentford 3-1 Southampton: A beauty of a late consolation for Yukinari Sugawara (90'+4)
GOAL! Brentford 3-0 Southampton: Yoane Wissa bundles a long throw over the line (69')
GOAL! Brentford 2-0 Southampton: Saints sloppy again, Bryan Mbeumo scores again (65')
GOAL! Brentford 1-0 Southampton: Bryan Mbeumo cleans up the rebound after Saints’ sloppy possession (43')
Brentford starting lineup
Flekken - Damsgaard, Collins, Pinnock, Ajer - Janelt, Jensen, Norgaard - Mbeumo, Schade, Wissa
Southampton starting lineup
Ramsdale - Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Stephens - Downes, Smallbone, Aribo, Sugawara, Walker-Peters - Armstrong, Brereton Diaz
How to watch Brentford vs Southampton live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 10am ET Saturday (August 31)
Venue: Gtech Community Stadium
TV Channel: Peacock Premium
Streaming: Premier League on Peacock
Brentford focus, team news
Josh Dasilva, Rico Henry, Aaron Hickey and Igor Thiago remain out, while Brentford will rely heavily on Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa up top to deliver goals and chances. New signing Sepp van den Berg could start in central defense, while Fabio Carvalho is also expected to get the nod in an attacking central role and Brentford just pipped Southampton to his signature. Just like they always do at home, the Bees will go direct and press high from the first whistle.
Southampton focus, team news
Martin has a lot of selection decisions to make as teenagers Tyler Dibling and Sam Amo-Ameyaw both impressed in their 5-3 League Cup win at Cardiff City in midweek. New signings Matheus Fernandes and Cameron Archer were both on the scoresheet in the midweek win and are pushing for a start. New goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale could make his debut in goal for Saints after his move from Arsenal was completed in time, while fellow new signings Ryan Fraser and Maxwel Cornet won’t be available as they missed the deadline for this weekend. Adam Lallana returned from injury to make his second Saints debut in midweek, while both Ross Stewart and Kamaldeen Sulemana are almost back to full fitness. Gavin Bazunu remains out long-term with an Achilles injury.
Brentford vs Southampton prediction
This seems like it will be an open, entertaining game and we should expected plenty of chances. The Bees will probably just edge it due to their extra quality and belief in the final third. Brentford 2-1 Southampton.