Brentford made light of Ivan Toney's absence to start their 2024/25 Premier League campaign with a 2-1 London derby victory over Crystal Palace, as Yoane Wissa netted a second-half winner.
Bees talisman Toney was left out of the hosts’ squad for Sunday’s match at the Gtech Community Stadium, with Thomas Frank confirming before kick-off that the decision was made due to transfer interest in the striker.
But his absence was not felt as Bryan Mbeumo opened the scoring just before the half-hour mark, cutting onto his favoured left foot to stroke into the bottom-left corner.
However, Palace - who saw efforts from Eberechi Eze and Odsonne Edouard ruled out in either half - came on strong in the second period and levelled through Ethan Pinnock’s own goal.
The Eagles were caught out as the match became stretched, though, with Wissa converting from close range 14 minutes from time to seal the points for Brentford, and their first Premier League victory over Palace, moving them up to fifth in the early standings.
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How the match unfolded
Palace were denied a stunning opener after 26 minutes. Standing over a free-kick out on the right wing, Eze curled a sumptuous effort in off the near post. Referee Samuel Barrott had, however, awarded a free-kick to Brentford for a foul by Will Hughes on Nathan Collins. The whistle was blown before the ball crossed the goalline, so VAR could not intervene and the referee’s call stood.
Brentford took full advantage three minutes later, as a flowing move down the right culminated in Mbeumo cutting inside to bend home.
"It was Arjen Robben-esque! You know what he's going to do but you can't stop it," said Joe Hart, a two-time Premier League title winner with Manchester City, on Premier League Matchday Live.
Increased Palace pressure paid off after 56 minutes, though, when Pinnock turned into his own net after Daniel Munoz had headed across the face of goal.
Edouard was then flagged marginally offside when racing clear to beat Mark Flekken, and Brentford made that fortune count when Wissa bundled in after Dean Henderson had parried Collins' scuffed effort.
Flekken made a late stop to keep out Eze's deflected strike as Palace desperately pushed for another equaliser, but those efforts were fruitless.
No Toney, no problem
There would have been plenty of concern among Brentford's supporters as they filtered into the Gtech Community Stadium, reeling from the news that star striker Toney had been left out of the matchday squad.
And with record signing Igor Thiago unlikely to make his debut until late 2024 after suffering a meniscus injury in pre-season, the Bees were left without an attacking focal point.
That did not seem to affect them, however, as their fluid front three of Wissa, Mbeumo and Kevin Schade pulled Palace's backline apart time and again in the latter stages of the first half.
Wissa - himself a reported target for Wolverhampton Wanderers - and Mbeumo combined beautifully for the latter's opener, and though Palace enjoyed a strong spell to start the second half, Wissa was in the right place at the right time to restore Brentford's lead at a crucial point in the match.
If Brentford must face the prospect of life without Toney, who is their all-time leading Premier League scorer, with 36 goals, they can take heart from Wissa and Mbeumo stepping up when their team needed them most. Indeed, it was the 12th different Premier League match the pair have both scored in.
The Bees will likely need that form to continue when they visit Liverpool next week.
Tough start to Glasner's second act
Palace's stunning end to last season led many to tip them as outsiders for a European place, with Oliver Glasner's Eagles having won six of their final seven league matches in 2023/24.
That optimism remained intact despite the sale of Michael Olise to Bayern Munich and persistent speculation over the future of Marc Guehi who, unlike Toney, played the full 90 minutes amid reported interest from Newcastle United.
The England international did not enjoy his finest performance, arguably being slow to engage Mbeumo as the Brentford winger bustled into the area to open the scoring.
While the early stages of the second half saw Palace up the ante with Eze and Adam Wharton, who drew solid saves out of Flekken, both increasingly influential, the guile of Olise and the power of Jean-Philippe Mateta - who was withdrawn at half-time after representing France at the Olympic Games - was sorely missed.
All in all, the result represents a reality-check for Glasner's side, who must regroup for a pair of London derbies against West Ham United and Chelsea before the season's first international break.
Club reports
Brentford report | Crystal Palace report
What the managers said
Thomas Frank: “I’m feeling unbelievable! We’re sitting here, in the sun, it’s a lovely Sunday afternoon, and we just got three points in the Premier League - there are very few things that can match that feeling.
“A win is always important, in every aspect. It just gives us a boost - but I want more. We need to have a good week, we go to Anfield next weekend, and we’ll see what we can do there.”
Oliver Glasner: "Very disappointed, especially with how the game was going.
"Many things we did very well but we also have to be critical and we conceded too many goals. We have to analyse, but we created many situations where we could have scored. Many things were positive but if you lose 2-1 it is a negative."
Next Premier League fixtures
Key facts
Brentford remain unbeaten in their opening match in all four of their Premier League seasons (W2 D2), the most campaigns a side has competed in without losing a MD1 fixture.
Palace suffered a Premier League defeat for the first time in eight matches (W6 D1), since Man City beat them 4-2 in April - the Eagles haven’t won away from home in a London derby in the top flight in any of their last 12 attempts (D5 L7).
Since the start of the 2021/22 season, only Bukayo Saka (12 goals, 14 assists) has been involved in more goals in Premier League London derbies than Brentford's Mbeumo (11 goals, 6 assists). The Frenchman’s opening goal came from the Bees' first shot of the season.
Wissa became the first player to both score and assist in three consecutive Premier League matches since Man City’s Riyad Mahrez in December 2021.
