Brentford made it back-to-back Premier League away wins with a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday.
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Bryan Mbeumo’s retaken penalty and a Kevin Schade header gave the Bees only a second win in 10 matches across all competitions.
The visitors broke the deadlock midway through the second half – Mbeumo was on target from 12 yards, but only after the referee had ordered a retake due to encroachment after his first spot-kick had hit a post.
Schade secured the points when he nodded in Mikkel Damsgaard’s cross 10 minutes from time, though debutant Romain Esse grabbed a late consolation for the Eagles.
Thomas Frank’s side stay 11th but move four points clear of Palace, who remain 12th.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 |
Brighton
BHA
|
23 | +4 | 34 |
| 10 |
Fulham
FUL
|
23 | +3 | 33 |
| 11 |
Brentford
BRE
|
23 | +2 | 31 |
| 12 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
23 | -4 | 29 |
| 13 |
Crystal Palace
CRY
|
23 | -4 | 27 |
How the match unfolded
Both sides went close in the first half. Eberechi Eze’s neat flick released Jean-Philippe Mateta, who stung Mark Flekken's palms with a fierce strike, while Dean Henderson got down well to claw away Yoane Wissa’s deflected low drive at the other end.
The hosts almost took the lead after the break when Eze’s free-kick deflected onto the post, but it was Brentford who struck first in the 66th minute following Maxence Lacroix’s trip on Nathan Collins.
Mbeumo struck a post with his initial penalty but, after Marc Guehi was penalised for encroachment following a VAR review, the forward made no mistake with his second attempt, sending Henderson the wrong way.
Watch Mbeumo's goal
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) January 26, 2025
Schade gave the visitors breathing space by doubling the lead in the 80th minute, beating his marker to head in Damsgaard’s inviting delivery.
Palace halved the deficit five minutes later when Daniel Munoz helped Eze’s deep ball back across goal for Esse to tuck home, with his very first touch in the Premier League, but it was not enough to extend the hosts’ five-match unbeaten league streak.
Eagles' unbeaten streak grounded
Oliver Glasner’s side appeared to have turned a corner recently, with a run of five Premier League matches without defeat lifting them to 12th in the table.
Their confidence was evident as they made a positive start, with Eze getting a shot away inside the opening 15 seconds.
Mateta also called Flekken into action, while it took a brilliant last-ditch sliding challenge from Collins to deny Eze another sight of goal.
The woodwork then thwarted Palace and Eze with his 57th-minute free-kick, which almost snuck in after a big deflection off the wall, before they fell behind to the retaken penalty.
Schade’s header gave them a mountain to climb, though substitute Esse gave them hope – taking only 119 seconds of his Premier League debut to make his mark with a goal.
However, it just proved too little too late for the Eagles, who suffered their first defeat in seven home league meetings with Brentford, and now Glasner will seek a response from his players when he takes them to Old Trafford to face Manchester United next Sunday.
Bees win back-to-back on the road
Looking to close the gap on the top half of the table, Brentford will not have been overly confident ahead of facing in-form Palace. After all, they arrived at Selhurst Park boasting just one win from a possible nine across all competitions.
And after maintaining their defensive discipline for so long, they edged their noses in front via Mbeumo’s penalty – albeit in somewhat fortuitous circumstances.
Although, after Schade doubled the lead, Esse ensured they would be in for a nervy finish, especially considering Brentford had conceded six Premier League goals in the 90th minute or later this season.
Nevertheless, Frank’s side held out to make it back-to-back away league wins for the first time in nearly 18 months.
The Bees can look forward to two more Premier League London derbies against struggling Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.
Club reports
Crystal Palace report | Brentford report
What the managers said
Oliver Glasner: "They pushed the team forward and pushed them to get the equaliser. it didn't work but we know we can always count on our fans. The performance was OK, not brilliant but not too bad. We have to work. We knew that conceding a goal against Brentford is difficult because they threaten you with the pace on the attack."
Thomas Frank: "We tried to create the best meal that we got out of the freezer and it was actually still quite tasty and we got the three points."
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Match facts
Palace suffered only their third defeat across their last 15 Premier League matches (W6 D6), with all three defeats coming in London derby matches at Selhurst Park against Fulham, Arsenal, and Brentford.
Esse is the first teenager to score on his Premier League debut (19 years, 258 days) since Rayan Ait-Nouri for Wolverhampton Wanderers in October 2020 (19y 146d).
Mbeumo has scored all nine Premier League penalties he has taken, making him one of only five players to take 9+ penalties and score all of them, along with Dimitar Berbatov (nine), Raul JimEnez (10), Yaya Toure (11) and Cole Palmer (12).
