Brentford‘s excellent start to the season continued with a resounding 3-0 win at home to London rivals Chelsea on Friday night.
The Bees are now unbeaten in seven games across all competitions at the start of this campaign, including a record of two wins and three draws from five Premier League outings.
Brentford have become regulars in the upper echelons of the Premier League, finishing in the top half in three of the last four campaigns, including the last two. This time around, Keith Andrews looks to be taking them to new levels, with victories against Tottenham and Chelsea bookended by draws with Leeds, Sunderland and Bournemouth — the latter from behind.
Andrews’ side look set for another tilt at European qualification, but can they sustain this promising start or is it set to fall apart all too soon?
Kevin Schade spearheads dynamic attack
Both of Brentford’s league wins this season have come via a 3-0 scoreline, while they’ve scored in every single match they’ve played in so far this season — the attacking highlight a 6-1 thrashing of Birmingham away from home in the EFL Cup.
Strictly in the Premier League, the Bees have scored 10 goals at an average of two per game, with Brighton (16) the only side scoring more so far.
Those goals have come as a result of the sheer quantity of attempts and chances created. Brentford are fourth in the Premier League for shots (81), fifth for shots on target (23) and seventh for chances created (54), to the tune of 9.9 xG. Again, only Brighton (11.5) outperform the Bees in the latter metric.
Kevin Schade has built on an impressive last two seasons with three goals in five Premier League games at the start of this one, including a brace to help Brentford fight back for a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth earlier in September. Midfielder Vitaly Janelt has also popped up with two surprise goals — as many as he managed in his previous two campaigns combined.
Most promisingly for Brentford, Igor Thiago finally opened his league account against Chelsea. The Brazilian was second only to Erling Haaland in the Premier League Golden Boot race last season, but his only strike this term prior to Friday was in the EFL Cup. However, Thiago pounced on a rebound to put Brentford 2-0 up against Chelsea, and should now be able to kick on with confidence after missing four big chances — only Everton’s Thierno Barry (6) has missed more so far.
Andrews has crafted a dynamic attacking unit at the Gtech Community Stadium, which is a remarkable achievement given Brentford have sold the likes of Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Ivan Toney over the last couple of years.
Vitaly Janelt leads high defensive work rate
Brentford have kept just two clean sheets across all competitions so far this season, coming in their 3-0 wins over Spurs and Chelsea. The latter was a particularly impressive shutout considering Xabi Alonso fielded the likes of Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Danny Welbeck, while bringing Estevao off the bench.
They’re not exactly leaking goals when they don’t keep a clean sheet, either. The Bees have only conceded more than once in a single game on one occasion — that 2-2 comeback at Bournemouth. The goals they conceded against Birmingham and Reading in the cup were amid a deluge of their own, and when they were already well in control, respectively, while Enzo Le Fee’s strike for Sunderland was a penalty.
Brentford have made just two errors leading to a shot in the Premier League and none leading to a goal. Their 6.3 xGC is decent enough, standing as the eighth-best record in the division.
What you cannot accuse the Bees of is shirking their responsibilities or not working hard enough. Andrews’ side sit second for clearances (155), joint-first for interceptions (51) and sixth for tackles (82), while only Nottingham Forest (117) have won possession in the defensive third on more occasions (112).
Andrews has two players in the Premier League’s top seven for tackles — Janelt (2nd) and Mamadou Sangare (7th) — while the former is first for interceptions (16).
Can Brentford sustain their unbeaten start?
Brentford are about to face a serious test of their unbeaten start, travelling to Aston Villa immediately after the international break before hosting Liverpool.
Andrews’ side have already proven they can snuff out quality attacking units and deliver killer blows of their own in the final third.
What’s more, they have surprisingly good records in their next two fixtures. The Bees have won each of their last three meetings with Villa across all competitions, while they took four points from Liverpool last season, snatching a draw at Anfield after beating the Reds 3-2 in London.
Come through those two games unscathed, and Brentford will have firmly established themselves as contenders for those highly coveted European spots this campaign.
Stats in this article are correct at the time of writing.