Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa starred as Brentford beat 10-man Brighton & Hove Albion 4-2 in the Premier League to keep their European hopes alive.
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Mbeumo scored the first goal of his brace inside 10 minutes with a fine finish, but Brighton pegged them back before the break through Danny Welbeck’s header.
It was all Brentford after the interval, with Mbeumo scoring another quick goal, then teeing up Wissa, before Joao Pedro was sent off. Mbeumo and Wissa are now both among the top six goalscorers this season, with 18 and 16 Premier League goals respectively.
Kaoru Mitoma did pull one back for the visitors, but their hopes of a comeback were ended in stoppage time as Christian Norgaard flicked in Brentford’s fourth.
Thomas Frank’s side remain 11th but are now just two points behind 10th-placed Brighton, who missed the chance to move up to eighth.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
33 | +6 | 57 |
| 8 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
33 | +12 | 49 |
| 9 |
Fulham
FUL
|
33 | +3 | 48 |
| 10 |
Brighton
BHA
|
33 | 0 | 48 |
| 11 |
Brentford
BRE
|
33 | +6 | 46 |
How the match unfolded
Brentford made a fast start, with Bart Verbruggen denying Wissa early on before Mbeumo gave them the lead. Keane Lewis-Potter broke forward and slipped in the Cameroon international, who struck into the corner with his right foot.
Brighton grew into the game but caused few scares until first-half stoppage time, when Mats Wieffer’s cross was headed into the corner by a stretching Welbeck.
But Brentford came to the fore after the break. Mbeumo enjoyed a fair slice of luck as his left-footed effort took a deflection off Lewis Dunk and nestled into the far corner three minutes into the second half.
Wissa finished off Mbeumo’s low cross from near the penalty spot shortly before the hour, and in the 61st minute, Brighton were reduced to 10 men.
Joao Pedro received a straight red card after lashing out at Nathan Collins after tussling for the ball, though Mitoma gave his side a lifeline by slotting in with nine minutes to play.
Brentford defended strongly from there and secured the win that keeps them in touch with the European places as Norgaard nodded in a stoppage-time free-kick.
Bees find their buzz
This was a big afternoon for Brentford, who finally ended their run of eight Premier League home matches without a win to stay alive in the race for Europe.
Frank’s side had started so strongly at home this season, but that form had trailed off in recent months, with that run including failure to beat bottom-half Tottenham Hotspur and Everton since the beginning of February.
But with two of the division’s leading marksmen in Wissa and Mbeumo up front, they always have the firepower to win games – a fact proven on Saturday.
Mbeumo took his first goal nicely with his wrong foot, before he enjoyed some luck as a left-footed shot found the corner via a big deflection off Dunk to restore Brentford’s lead early in the second half.
He then turned provider for his partner, teeing up Wissa to slam in a third just before the hour mark, seemingly putting Brentford in control, and despite a slightly nervy ending, they held out for a vital three points.
The goals took Mbeumo to 18 and Wissa to 16 Premier League strikes this season, with only Mohamed Salah, Alexander Isak, Erling Haaland and Chris Wood keeping pace.
And they could still be playing European football next season too, with the Bees only three points behind eighth-placed AFC Bournemouth.
Top Premier League goalscorers 2024/25
| Player | Goals |
|---|---|
| Mohamed Salah | 27 |
| Erling Haaland | 21 |
| Alexander Isak | 21 |
| Bryan Mbeumo | 18 |
| Chris Wood | 18 |
| Yoane Wissa | 16 |
Streaky Seagulls stall again
Brighton have been hugely impressive for long periods of this season, but their streaky nature may be what lets them down in the race for Europe.
Between late-November and mid-January, the Seagulls went eight matches without a win, including failures to beat the bottom two, Southampton and Leicester City.
Having finally broken that duck, they went on an excellent run, winning six of eight league games to move back into the hunt, only to hit another roadblock.
They have followed that up with a run of five without a win, and their inability to find consistency in a competitive fight for the European places could cost them, especially after Welbeck had given them a perfect platform to build on by scoring before the break.
Part of that could be put down to the youth in their side, with five of their front six in west London aged 25 or younger, and one of them, Joao Pedro, needlessly sent off after losing his temper in the second half.
The game also ended on a concerning note for Fabian Hurzeler. Jan Paul van Hecke left the pitch on a stretcher after a serious head collision with Yunus Konak.
Club reports
Brentford report | Brighton report
What the managers said
Thomas Frank: "I’m very happy that we were back to our best at the Gtech. We were such a threat going forward, so dangerous and just a pleasure to watch. The first 15 minutes of both halves was fantastic to watch. The only negative is that I would have loved for us to have managed the last 30 minutes better and controlled it even more."
Fabian Hurzeler:
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Key facts
Mbeumo and Wissa have scored in the same Premier League game 18 times for Brentford; only seven pairs have done so more often for the same Premier League side in the competition’s history. Indeed, the seven times they’ve done so this season is the most of any pair in 2024/25.
After a run of four successive wins in February/March, Brighton are winless in their last five league games (D2 L3), their second-longest run of the season after an eight-game run from November to January (D6 L2).
Thirteen of Mbeumo’s 18 Premier League goals for Brentford this season have either been equalisers or given them the lead; only Salah and Haaland (both 14) have scored more such goals in 2024/25.
Welbeck scored his ninth Premier League goal of the season for Brighton, his joint-best return in a campaign in the competition, along with 2011/12 and 2013/14.
