Brentford and West Ham United shared the points in a keenly-contested London derby as Bryan Mbeumo’s goal was cancelled out by Tomas Soucek in a 1-1 draw at the Gtech Community Stadium.
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Mbeumo volleyed home from close range after 38 seconds to give Brentford the perfect start, but the hosts could not build on their advantage and West Ham equalised early in the second half.
Soucek’s goal for the visitors came after 54 minutes following some intricate play around the penalty area.
Both sides spent the rest of the second half searching for a winner, but one was not forthcoming.
The point leaves Brentford 12th in the Premier League table, while West Ham are two places below them in 14th.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
5 | 0 | 7 |
| 12 |
Brentford
BRE
|
6 | -2 | 7 |
| 13 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
5 | -3 | 5 |
| 14 |
West Ham
WHU
|
6 | -4 | 5 |
| 15 |
Everton
EVE
|
6 | -8 | 4 |
How the match unfolded
For the third Premier League match in a row, Brentford opened the scoring inside the first minute and became the first team to ever achieve that feat.
The Bees kept the ball alive inside the penalty area and Fabio Carvalho headed the ball across to Mbeumo to produce a volleyed finish into the roof of the net inside 38 seconds.
That was the only shot on target in the first half in a competitive and tight affair at the Gtech Community Stadium.
The visitors grabbed an equaliser nine minutes into the second half when Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen linked up on the edge of the penalty area, before Michail Antonio’s effort deflected kindly into the path of Soucek to sweep home.
Yehor Yarmoliuk’s effort forced Alphonse Areola into the only save of note in the second half as both defences stood firm.
Bees quick off the mark again
It took Brentford just 38 seconds to strike and, after goals in the opening minute against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City in their recent Premier League fixtures, they are gaining a reputation as fast starters.
Mbeumo is becoming the main man at Brentford with a fifth goal in six matches and a 14th goal involvement in 15 London derby appearances in the Premier League.
Once again though, they were unable to get a second and allowed the visitors to settle into the game.
Mbeumo did head over Mikkel Damsgaard’s inviting delivery, but the hosts never looked like adding to their early goal.
Thomas Frank’s side also never looked in danger of conceding an equalising goal, but a slice of luck for the visitors drew the contest level.
Brentford’s propensity to drop points from losing positions will be a cause of concern for Frank, but they look strong at home and a tricky test for any team.
Soucek salvages a point for Hammers
After a week in which West Ham lost at home to Chelsea and were knocked out of the EFL Cup by Liverpool, they got off to the worst possible start in west London.
After conceding early, the visitors did gain more composure within the match but found it difficult to break down a stubborn Brentford defence.
Mohammed Kudus’ close-range volley was blocked and Antonio dragged an effort wide, but the Hammers' pressure for an equaliser lacked cutting edge.
Julen Lopetegui though will have been pleased with their defensive display, which was much improved from last weekend’s Chelsea defeat.
Their control of the contest continued into the second half and a fortuitous break inside the penalty area allowed Soucek to equalise.
The Hammers remain unbeaten away from home in the Premier League despite a mixed start to the season.
Lopetegui’s side will host Ipswich next weekend before facing Spurs and Manchester United in consecutive matches.
Club reports
Brentford report | West Ham report
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What the managers said
Thomas Frank: "I can't tell you [the secret]. It must be a world record, three games in a row under 40 seconds - it's unbelievable. Bryan is on fire, no doubt about that. He has been carrying the team in many ways, scoring goals and creating opportunities.It's a good point. I'm always disappointed if we don't get three. We were the better team for 75 minutes."
Julen Lopetegui: "We showed this [Brentford's record of scoring early] to the players and it's incredible we suffered. It's a bad picture to concede so early. We kept calm and I think we deserved to win the match in the second half, we showed character and commitment. Away we show big character and personality but we want that at home too."
Key facts
Brentford become the first team in Premier League history to score in the opening minute in three consecutive games.
Mbeumo has now been involved in 48 Premier League goals (27 goals, 21 assists), the outright most of any Brentford player in the Premier League, overtaking Ivan Toney’s 47.
West Ham have gone unbeaten in three consecutive away London derbies in the Premier League (W1 D2) for the first time since a run of three draws between October 2017 and April 2018.
16 of Tomas Soucek’s last 17 Premier League goals for West Ham have either drawn them level (five) or put them one goal ahead (11) in the match.
