Bryan Mbeumo’s late goal sunk 10-man Ipswich Town as Brentford came out 4-3 winner from a chaotic and dramatic Premier League match at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Kieran McKenna's side looked on course for a first victory of the season as quickfire first-half goals from Sam Szmodics and George Hirst put them 2-0 up.
However, the game was flipped on its head just before the break, as Yoane Wissa slotted home and then forced an own goal from the luckless Harry Clarke, who subsequently conceded a penalty early in the second half.
Mbeumo slammed home from 12 yards, and Clarke’s day got worse when he received his second booking, only for Ipswich to fightback through Liam Delap’s 86th-minute goal.
Yet Mbeumo had the final say as his cross found the net deep in stoppage time. The win moves Brentford to ninth while Ipswich remain 16th, without a win to their name.
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How the match unfolded
Despite the final result, there was little goalmouth action early on before Hirst teed up Szmodics to fire past Mark Flekken in the 28th minute.
The away fans were swiftly celebrating a second as Hirst dinked home his maiden Premier League goal.
But as Ipswich failed to find an immediate third, with Szmodics missing a chance, Brentford struck twice in as many minutes. Wissa halved the deficit before squeezing a shot under Arijanet Muric that the unfortunate Clarke bundled over his own line.
Brentford were revved up after the restart, as Keane Lewis-Potter caught Clarke cold to win a penalty. Mbeumo coolly converted to put the Bees ahead.
With the visitors punctured by the turnaround, Clarke's red card was another blow, before Delap hauled them back into the game with a clever finish from Leif Davis’ brilliant left-wing cross.
But the Bees had a final sting in their tail in the sixth minute of stoppage time as Mbeumo’s hopeful cross into the area crept into the far corner. Delap hit the post with a wicked effort just after, but it was ultimately not to be for Ipswich.
Wissa and Mbeumo and rule after Toney’s exit
Despite the exit of their most high-profile name in Ivan Toney, Brentford fans were confident over the Wissa-Mbeumo axis thriving in the post-Toney era, and the signs look very positive.
Wissa's breakthrough strike in the Bees’ first-half comeback, and his key role in forcing Clarke's own goal, combined with Mbeumo taking centre stage after the interval, showed just how adept the duo are at pulling defences out of shape.
Mbeumo's sharpness to drop in and link with the midfield eases the pressure on Brentford's engine room with Wissa's pace and directness in behind giving the feel of a throwback front two.
There was a touch of fortune about Mbeumo’s winner, but his confidence from the spot earlier on proves he is excelling as one of Brentford’s go-to men. Thomas Frank’s side had a tough time of it last season, but if Mbeumo and Wissa stay fit, then a top-half finish is on the cards.
Sparky Szmodics offers Ipswich hope
Converting impressive Championship form into Premier League consistency is always a challenge and Ipswich will have known that when they made a summer move for Republic of Ireland midfielder Szmodics.
He lit up the second tier in 2023/24 for Blackburn Rovers before swapping Lancashire for Norfolk in August.
A goal on his first Premier League start at Manchester City lifted some of the early pressure on his shoulders, but goals have been hard to come by since, with his opener against Brentford just his second league strike of the season.
However, his wider role in this Ipswich team shows the threat he carries; tenacious off the ball and willing to make life uncomfortable for opposition defences.
Replaced on 73 minutes, another battling shift underlines McKenna's confidence, even if Delap's goals continue to grab the headlines for Ipswich. But now, the Tractor Boys have to find a way to keep it tight at the back if they are to collect that first victory of the season.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
9 | +4 | 16 |
| 7 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
8 | +7 | 14 |
| 8 |
Spurs
TOT
|
8 | +9 | 13 |
| 9 |
Brentford
BRE
|
9 | 0 | 13 |
| 10 |
Fulham
FUL
|
9 | 0 | 12 |
| 11 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
9 | 0 | 12 |
Club reports
Brentford report | Ipswich report
What managers said
Thomas Frank: "Being completely honest, I am still irritated. In many ways we did not do well enough, so big respect and praise to Ipswich. They were by far the better team for the first fourty minutes, there was only one team on the pitch - one of our worst ever in the Premier League."
Kieran McKenna: "I thought it was a brilliant game. The players delivered an outstanding performance in so many areas of the game, with eleven and ten men. It was a big step forward in terms of the resilience shown, it is disappointing we did not get any points today, but if we can show that character and belief and are competitive every week then things can turn and we can pick up points."
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Key facts
Brentford have recovered from being 2+ goals down to win a Premier League match for the very first time, having drawn two and lost 29 of the previous 31 games in which they found themselves down by at least two goals – it was Ipswich’s second loss after being 2+ goals ahead, with their only previous one also having come in London (2-3 v Charlton in January 2002).
Ipswich are now winless across their first nine matches of the 2024/25 Premier League season (D4 L5), the Tractor Boys’ longest ever such run at the start of a top flight campaign.
Wissa has now registered a goal involvement in each of his last four Premier League home games for Brentford, scoring four and assisting two, as many involvements as in his last 26 league games at the Gtech Community Stadium combined (five goals, one assist). Mbeumo has now scored in each of his last five league home matches, the first time a player has done so for Brentford after Mbuemo himself between November 2019 and January 2020.
Hirst is the first Ipswich player to both score and assist in a Premier League match since Marcus Bent did so against Derby County in January 2002 and the first player to do so in the first half of his first Premier League start for any club since Emmanuel Dennis for Watford v Aston Villa in August 2021.
