Brentford move up to eighth in the Premier League thanks to win over Bournemouth
Brentford squared off against Bournemouth in England’s top flight for just the second time in history, and the first in West London, as the hosts looked to extend their longest top-flight unbeaten run in 85 years.
Despite this, Bournemouth coped well with an in-form Brentford side and limited the Bees to little chances of note in the opening period.
As the game crept towards the break, the Cherries made their first mistake, however, as Marcos Senesi dragged Ivan Toney to the ground inside the area, leaving the referee with no choice but to point to the spot.
Toney stepped up and calmly slotted the ball into the top right-hand corner to give his side the lead in the 39th minute. With nine out of nine penalties scored, only Yaya Toure has a better 100% record than the Brentford striker in Premier League history.
Bournemouth’s second-half response, although an improvement, lacked the sharp edge necessary to cut through Brentford’s comfortable backline. Up against a side who scored two or more goals in their five league games prior to this fixture, the odds weren’t exactly in the visitors’ favour, either.
David Raya didn’t remain untested, though, with substitute Siriki Dembele twisting in and out before forcing the Brentford goalkeeper into a diving save inside the area.
Thomas Frank’s side very rarely end a game with just one goal, and this was the case once more, as Mathias Jensen ruthlessly finished into the top right-hand corner following Josh Dasilva’s pinpoint pass to put the game out of reach in the 75th minute.
The three points take Brentford up into eighth and six points adrift of the top four places in the league table. After their fourth consecutive league loss, Bournemouth, meanwhile, now sit just one point above the dropzone.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Josh Dasilva (Brentford)