Four seasons into an unprecedented Premier League run, and there are still no signs that Brentford are anywhere close to running out of ideas.
While five clubs have been promoted and swiftly relegated from the top flight since manager Thomas Frank brought the west London side up in 2021, Brentford have continued to evolve. Despite being one of the division’s lowest spenders across that time, suffering a plague of injuries last season, and losing star striker Ivan Toney and goalkeeper David Raya in between, the club are now in the mix for their highest finish yet.
Saturday’s 2-1 win away at Bournemouth — where three of the current top five have been defeated this season — showed Frank’s side at their organised, innovative and smartest best.
Their first goal, from an in-swinging Bryan Mbeumo corner, saw goalscorer Yoane Wissa instantly seek out set-piece coach Keith Andrews on the touchline. The 44-year-old was also embraced by his colleagues for their second, as Brentford scored their fourth goal from a throw-in this season, the only other Premier League side to have managed more than one.
Frank described the winner as a “great, ugly goal” after the game, and was visibly satisfied at being able to clinch yet another even contest involving his side. “Set-piece goals are important. It’s a strength we’ve had for many years and we work hard on them, so it’s very pleasing that it gave us the win today.”
Christian Norgaard scores Brentford’s winner at Bournemouth (Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Now maximising throw-ins, Brentford also made a habit of fashioning chances from kick-off earlier in the season. No team comes close to their conversion rate in front of goal this season, taking almost three-quarters of their shots from inside the penalty area, another statistical quirk that illustrates their commitment to finding small margins to keep them ahead of the curve.
It might not always be pretty, but rigorous preparation and tactical flexibility consistently keeps Brentford in tough Premier League games. It’s the innovation that helps them to win.
Frank has spoken about “adding layers” to his team’s approach on numerous occasions since their ninth-placed finish two years ago, and the evidence suggests that Brentford have generally tried to exert more control on their games with more intricate possession this season.
As the below graph illustrates, mapping the average number of passes that Premier League teams make per passing sequence, alongside average speed at which they move the ball towards the opposition goal, their attacking play has slowed — though not too much — and they increasingly look to build attacks with short passes out from the back.
At Bournemouth, however, a side renowned for their aggressive high pressing, Frank was happy to revert to a more direct style, leaning into the long-ball expertise that they developed in their previous top-flight seasons.
Goalkeeper Mark Flekken went long with 81.8 per cent of his passes on Saturday — by far his highest proportion of the season — in a switch that helped the team to bypass Bournemouth’s dangerous ball-winners up front and nullify a key opposition threat.
It also played into one of Brentford’s key strengths: winning second balls. As explored by The Athletic earlier this week, Frank’s side are outliers in that they both compete for a high number of aerial duels and sweep up so many of the resulting loose balls.
In the sequence below, for example, as Flekken pumps the ball upfield in frame one, Bournemouth are forced to retreat into a deeper, more compact shape.
In frame two, Kevin Schade nudges Ilya Zabarnyi as the goal kick approaches. Then the supporting cast arrive for second-ball duty before Ethan Pinnock jumps with Evanilson to keep Bournemouth penned in, nodding the ball back forwards to Vitaly Janelt.
With an incisive pass through to Schade, Brentford suddenly have players between the lines, as the German sweeps the ball across to the dangerous Mbeumo on the opposite flank. Although his shot is saved, the away side quickly turn midfield pinball into an overload, with five players attacking the penalty area as the winger cuts inside.
“It’s a matter of the second ball, smelling the danger, reacting quicker than them,” Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola lamented after the match. “It’s not about getting a clean first contact in these situations, but the players who are ready for the second one.”
Adapting their style to make the opposition uncomfortable is one thing, but making the most of the advantage the new system creates, as Brentford managed time and time again on Saturday, is the sign of a well-drilled team.
It wasn’t all flick-ons and set pieces, however, as Brentford strung together some slick passing moves in the second half. Frank noted “six top moments”, with chances for Mikkel Damsgaard and an eye-catching run from Schade — slipped through by a nutmeg, reverse pass from Mbeumo — sticking in his mind.
But the closing stages of Saturday’s encounter were notable once again for Brentford’s game management, midfielders working hard in front of a back-five to force Bournemouth out wide, before dropping into the back line and tracking runs into the box.
When they regained possession late on, Frank’s side were composed to take the sting out of the game. After substitute Yehor Yarmolyuk headed clear on 88 minutes, for example, Brentford strung together 10 passes, holding onto the ball for 30 seconds as they worked a move out wide to Keane Lewis-Potter, who took a sharp touch inside to cleverly win a foul.
Five minutes later, and it was 19-year-old Yunus Konak winning the free kick, to the delight of the Brentford bench. “F***ing love it!” was the scream from the substituted Janelt, hammering his chair in appreciation, as the manager applauded with a triumphant smile on his face. Almost every player congratulated the youngster with a hug and a chest-bump as they headed down the tunnel, his small contribution very much a part of the collective grind.
Frank is now the third-longest serving manager in the top four leagues of English football, and this was a performance that showed the merits of such continuity. There was cohesion and spirit, as illustrated by the celebrations above, but also evidence of a team that have fine-tuned their primary approach, and have been able to start building a second.
Brentford are in with a chance of Europe, and will give anyone — no matter the playing style — a game.
(Top photos: Getty Images)
