Brentford defeated West Ham 2-0 at London Stadium but it could’ve been much worse for the Hammers.
The final score absolutely did not do the game justice. Until the 71st minute, for instance, the Bees had as many big chances as West Ham had shot attempts overall (5). It was that big of a thrashing.
In terms of the flow of the match, it went as expected. One of the deadliest teams from set pieces against the worst defending side in those situations. Still, somehow, that wasn’t how the guests scored – not for a lack of opportunities though.
How did Brentford beat West Ham?
| Stats | West Ham | Brentford |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 43% | 57% |
| Shots | 7 | 22 |
| Expected goals | 0.3 | 2.3 |
| Big chances | 0 | 5 |
| Touches in the opp. box | 14 | 42 |
Nuno’s onorthodox tactics
Nuno Espirito Santos lined up a rather interesting starting XI. Inverted full-backs – as in a right-back playing on the left and a left-back on the right.
Going forward, an ever-changing four-man grouping of Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, Crysencio Summerville and Mateus Fernandes. All of them switched positions and roamed around the attacking half – slightly tilted to the right – with no commitments to maintaining one specific collective shape.
Without a true striker – and refusing to play Callum Wilson – the Portuguese manager leaned on movement and high-paced free-flowing sequences to try and hurt Brentford. There were a few moments, but none of them led to anything truly dangerous.
They spent 40 minutes without attempting a shot between a 9th-minute blocked attempt by Mateus Fernandes and a decent 49th-minute strike by Bowen.
In addition, they tried playing direct and fast. When these sequences didn’t work (basically all of them in the first half), it offered Brentford a lot of space of their own for them to get their transition game going. The double pivot of Tomas Soucek and Andy Irving looked lost and their backline completely exposed.
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Set piece fest
As if all of that wasn’t enough, Keith Andrews’ men still had their most lethal weapon of all at their disposal.
In the first-half hammering (no pun intended), the Bees created over half of their expected goals tally from set pieces.
And it wasn’t just set pieces, but crosses overall usually hurt West Ham a lot. The guests attempted 10 of their 22 shots with headers – the most by a team in a Premier League game this season.
Key first-half stats:
- 10 headed shots
- 1.46 expected goals
- 0.80 expected goals from set pieces
- 0.66 expected goals from open play
Transition defence
Usually, the Bees had enough players tracking back in time to stop not only the rushing West Ham players off the ball, but also the carrier.
They didn’t exactly limit the Hammers’ opportunities in transition. Especially early on, the hosts broke through a few different times in the attacking half. But with how fast Keith Andrews’ men got back, there wasn’t enough time to create anything dangerous – or even get a shot off.
The whole Brentford team showed a lot of commitment to close down passing lanes and press their man – even out of their position. Kevin Schade protected the backline almost as a defensive midfielder at times tucking inside. Striker Igor Thiago even appeared once in their own defending byline like a centre-back.
Second-half adjustments
Nuno not only undid his unorthodox tactics from the first half at the break, but also switched to a three-at-the-back for the final 45 minutes. Looked like it was the only way they could combat Brentford’s aerial threat – in numbers. It helped a little bit, but the damage was already done.
Keith Andrews also adjusted. He usually relies a little more on right-sided build-ups to then switch the play looking for Schade in 1v1 situations on the left. That’s how they started today’s game: 41% of their first-half offensive actions came in the right-sided attacking third, as opposed to 33% down the left.
In the second half, already ahead, the plan changed. The space to attack with Schade – who had a great performance – in transition was already there, so the Bees switched their focus: 42% of their actions came from the left and just 31% from the right.
Brentford deserve a lot of praise for how they cornered West Ham in their own half, recovering possession quickly and charging forward.
The Hammers’ chaotic offensive structure led to a disorganized defensive shape, offering a lot of space for the Bees’ full-backs. Michael Kayode and even Kristoffer Ajer progressed a lot in the flanks and drove the team forward.
Even having 75% possession from the 10th until the 43rd minute, the Bees found ways to attack with pace and space – and even scored that way. Granted, poor defending from Max Kilman helped.
That was another common theme. Maybe it was because of the collective mess, but every single West Ham player had a poor performance. The four attacking-minded players misplaced easy passes, couldn’t take defenders on or complete crosses. Each of them failed to create any sort of individual advantages.
In the end, Keith Andrews managed to manipulate Nuno Espirito Santos’ game plan into catering the whole match to what suits Brentford best. What followed was a deserved, incredibly dominant (and somehow ‘unfair’ at the same time) 2-0 win.