A 5-0 obliteration of Southampton gave a Brentford a first away win of the season on an afternoon that saw them so dominant it might have ended up in double figures.
The Bees were wonderful going forwards. Fluid. Fast. Deadly. Cutting through the Saints as though they weren’t even there. Which, to be fair, they barely were. A side now so disorganised and spineless as to being beyond even Manchester United levels of current awfulness.
Yet at the same time you can only beat the team in front of you and The Bees did that in a style that at times bordered beyond showboating. A changed line up featuring the returns of Mathias Jensen and Kevin Schade (Yarmoliuk and Janelt benched) got things going at 100mph and never looked back.
Schade with the first just 6 minutes in to the game. Brilliant work from Damsgaard as he picked it up in midfield, rode two half-hearted challenges and stayed on his feet to release the German with a pass of set-square precision. Clear through on the left, he made no mistake steering it past Ramsdale with the outside of his foot for 1-0.
It was as good a start as one could have hoped for yet on went the Bees. Wissa with a glorious chance. Damsgaard coming close. Norgaard hitting the bar when Jensen dinked one in to the box. On pushed the Bees. Wissa with another chance but a solid block saw the ball deflected behind little more than five minutes in to the second half.
Sepp van Den Berg finally making it 2-0 from the resulting corner. Given all manner of space in the area, his connection with Mbeumo’s corner was as perfect as it could have been. Alas, his header was subsequently ruled out by VAR for an innocuous looking foul elsewhere in the box – the irony being that Saints’ defenders had been moving in the opposite direction to the centre back.
The stadium flickered in to life. The home crowd briefly roused from their pits of despair. Somehow, still just a goal down despite the absolute battering they’d taken. Could the Brentford away jinx strike again? Might the home side drag themselves back in to this one?
No chance. Wissa should have done it again and then, with the hour mark passed, Bryan Mbeumo finally doubled the lead. Freed by sheer desire from Wissa, he made no mistake in thumping it past Rasmdale high in to the net.
(7) seven minutes later and another goal. The most pointless of fouls on Sepp van den Berg seeing a spot kick awarded to Brentford. Mbeumo stepping up and doing what he does. 3-0 to The Bees and still 21 minutes to go.
It could have been more. It should have been more. Eventually it was more. KLP, who had also missed a great chance when dragging it just wide after magnificent build up work, making it 4-0 on 92. Substitute Paris Maghoma offered the freedom of the park by a Southampton midfield so polite they all allowed him through. His ball finding Mbeumo who picked out KLP. The wing back given all the room and time he needed.
Yet like a late night infomercial for the knife set, there was more. Just when you thought that was it, up popped Wissa with another Brentford goal. This time gifted the ball by more atrocious defending but seizing the opportunity with glee. Ramsdale sold up the river by his team-mates and unable to prevent it becoming 5-0.
There it stayed. Brentford turning the screw tighter and tighter throughout the game. Pushing up rather than sitting back. Sensing the opposition were there to be taken and despatching them in style. Four points out of the last six on their travels. Who said this away lark was tricky?
For now though, time for the top five player ratings. As always, five points being awarded for star player, four for second place, three for third etc with the totals added up game-by-game to find an overall winner for the season.
2024/25 Brentford Player Ratings from Matchweek 20 (vs Southampton)
1st (Star Player: 5 points) – Bryan Mbeumo
Just brilliant from Bryan.
His brace moving him to within touching distance in the race to become Brentford’s all-time top scorer in the Premier League. If he carries on playing like this, that record is sure to fall.
His first coming at the perfect time. The brief window of momentary relief that Saints may have felt had been offered was firmly slammed shut. The timing of his run to receive the ball back from Wissa, perfect. The finish, lethal.
As for the penalty kick, it was more of the same. If we get them, we score them. Bryan once again using that tried and tested technique of the almost nonchalant amble up to the ball and then leathering it home.
The goals aside, he played the role of creator. Set up KLP for the fourth. Set up Wissa for more chances. The Bees had 11 big opportunities to score in this game and he seemed to be in or around all of them.
2nd (4 points) – Mikkel Damsgaard
‘Only’ second for Mikkel? That’s how well Bryan played but the Dane wasn’t far behind.
It was his fleet footed skill through the middle that opened up The Saints for the first goal. The subsequent pass through to Schade just exquisite. The German got the goal but it was absolutely made in Denmark.
Had his own chance to score but couldn’t quite make the net ripple, this time. However, it was once again his passing and running that stood out like the proverbial sore thumb. Damsgaard running riot through the middle. Every time you looked up he was on the ball.
With confidence surging, this was the perfect game for Mikkel to showcase his talents. Despite the record books ‘only’ showing one assist for all his troubles, I thought he was key to everything Brentford achieved.
3rd (3 points) – Kevin Schade
This was more like it from Kevin.
A player who has blown hot and cold in recent weeks, he was much more at the levels that saw his hat-trick against Newcastle United last month. That first goal was eminently missable but he made it look as easy as possible. The most relaxed of finishes rather than blasting it.
Now it’s true that Southampton turned out to be non-existent as a credible threat but how much of that was down to this early chance being taken? All the talk beforehand was of this being a game they had targeted to win (shouldn’t they ALL be?) but there was Schade to very much disrupt the rhythm of the Saints.
It wasn’t just the goal, though. Like Mikkel, he really enjoyed running through the vast open plains of The Saint Mary’s. When not going forward, he was pinging it around to allow another man in green to do the same.
Quality.
4th (2 points) -Keane Lewis-Potter
To be fair, I’m torn between KLP and Schade for that third placed spot. We’ve given it to Schade today, as much because of his timing, but let’s be clear that it was oh so close.
KLP scored one. On reflection, he’ll probably feel that he should have scored two. Let’s not be harsh, though. With little defensive work to do he had a field day running up and down the left wing. Cutting infield. Spreading the ball around. Causing the Saints to have nightmares.
Another stormer from Keane.
5th (1 point) – Yoane Wissa
It’s not just Bryan chasing down Ivan’s record.
Wissa’s 95th minute strike was his 36th at this level, now tied with Ivan Toney. What a battle between him and Bryan. It was the cherry on the icing on the cake for Brentford.
Had he packed a different pair of shooting boots, Wissa may well have been clear of Toney’s top flight yardstick by this point. Let’s be positive though and reflect on the number of chances he created, the attempts he had, the goal he did score and his wonderful assist for Brentford’s second.
Like Damsgaard, it was all about the timing. On an afternoon where everybody who could run, did, Wissa was no exception.
2024/25 Brentford Player Ratings – Top 5 Overall (after Matchweek 20)
All of which means that heading in to the home games with Manchester City and Liverpool, Bryan Mbeumo retakes second place and pulls back some ground on Mikkel Damsgaard. With Mark Flekken unable to score any points by virtue of having nothing to do, KLP makes a bit more progress towards third place on the podium.
1st – Mikkel Damsgaard (61 points)
2nd – Bryan Mbeumo (43 points)
3rd – Mark Flekken (41 points)
4th – Keane Lewis-Potter (34 points)
5th – Christian Norgaard (27 points)
