Brentford

Ian Westbrook
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

It was hugely satisfying to bounce back from seeing Brentford concede a last-minute goal to lose at Sunderland to see us score one for a deserved point against Chelsea on Saturday.

We would all have taken a draw before the game - especially without Mikkel Damsgaard - and Keith Andrews' side did us proud with another resilient performance. It showed again that the team spirit is strong and that the new boss is unafraid to try different things.

In our early Premier League seasons under Thomas Frank, we always played five at the back against the top six. Andrews, who fielded a four-man back line in the first three league games, switched to five on Saturday, pleasingly including Ethan Pinnock.

For the second home match running, Andrews made big changes to defensive personnel in the closing stages. It did not work as well as against Aston Villa, with Moises Caicedo given too much time and space to score with a cracking shot.

However, his final substitution in throwing on Fabio Carvalho did pay off in grabbing a point.

Kevin Schade looked exhausted by that stage and we were questioning why he was not the player taken off. But keeping him on for his long throws was the right decision.

Another key factor in the draw was Jordan Henderson's first full game of the season. His brilliant pass for the first goal has been well praised - but his experience, calmness and knowledge of being in the right place at the right time were crucial.

That was the first of three 20:00 kick-offs in eight days and two big games follow.

Villa at home in the Carabao Cup - a competition in which it would be great to have a long run - comes before the big derby at Fulham.

An exciting few days beckon.

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Brentford have expressed interest in Borussia Dortmund's 19-year-old German full-back Almugera Kabar. (Bild - in German, subscription required), external

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Brentford boss Keith Andrews has been speaking to the media before Tuesday's Carabao Cup game against Aston Villa (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Mikkel Damsgaard, who missed Saturday's draw against Chelsea because of illness "is on the mend", adding: "Apart from that, it's as we were."

• He highlighted the importance of players seizing their opportunity on Tuesday: "I'm a firm believer in rewarding players for how they train consistently, and how they perform when given the opportunities. It's competition for places and the squad will get utilised. It's a competition we take very seriously."

• On Jordan Henderson's form: "He showed he's certainly not past his best. He's more than capable of producing really good levels at the highest level of world football. He's showcased already in the short time he's been with us that he's going to be a big part."

• On Kevin Schade: "Right from the go in pre-season, I felt he was ready for that next step in his journey to be a more prominent figure within the team. With that comes a level of responsibility."

• He added that Schade "can be versatile with how he plays and where he plays. He was selfless in his approach to the Chelsea game, understanding what was needed to get a result".

• When asked about his side's other attacking options he said: "They're all natural goalscorers and they all have different attributes... they need to be versatile, I like the flexibility of how we can play."

• On building rapport within the team: "In the previous chapter it was evident that a lot of the players had played together for a number of years. We're now in this new chapter of building relationships. It takes time to build that rapport with players and the understanding of what types of runs people will make."

• He highlighted the effectiveness of utilising long throws: "For a long time we've worked on long throws, in my previous role here, it was a prevalent part of what we did. It seems like there's teams looking at that aspect of the game. We've always treated that part of the game as something we can use to hurt the opposition."

Follow all of Monday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Brentford and Chelsea.

Here are some of your comments:

Brentford fans

Tim: That Chelsea had to send on the big guns to make an impression shows how effective the Bees had been up until then. It also shows how classy Palmer is - finding time and space at ease. Henderson is the rock in midfield, allowing the ever improving Yarmoliuk more licence to roam and harry the opposition. Lovely to see Kev get his goal, and Fabio likewise - both are confidence players.

David: A very gutsy performance from Brentford. Chelsea brought on a very talented bench, however we kept to our gameplan despite Chelsea's many excellent players. Kevin Schade was my man of the match.

Brian: I sensed a goal was coming when Keith Andrews introduced Fabio Carvalho late on. There was focus and determination in Kevin Schade's eyes as he took the long throw which confirmed this. It seems that the coach dubbed a "rookie" by so many pundits knows exactly what he is doing. Well done, Keith, and his Bees.

R Hipgrave: A good display under a new manager. Considering they have a new team from last season, on this showing, it looks good. Well done, Bees.

Chelsea fans

Richard: Chelsea snatch a draw from the jaws of victory. Often the defence has looked all over the place and Sanchez has saved Chelsea more than a few times this season. When you take the lead with five minutes remaining (thanks, Caicedo) you should be able to see the game out. At least Palmer is back. Gittens' contribution has been negligible thus far and Neto is speedy but too often he lacks an accurate final pass or cross. He should be scoring more goals.

Tawina: Decent start to the season for Chelsea, but that Brentford draw stings. Still unbeaten, which is a plus, but the habit of starting slow is worrying. We've shipped early goals in every league game (two chalked off, but still). That needs fixing fast or players like Yamal will punish us. This display and the season so far? Solid 6/10.

Scott: While people say Chelsea have a huge squad, the Brentford game showed that - outside the top 15 players or so - the quality is not there at Premier League or Champions League level. Our centre-backs and goalkeeper are simply not good enough. There is no way this team wins either of those competitions - a domestic cup and top four maybe.

Richard: Frustrating performance. The starting line-up looked like we had our eyes on Bayern. Why would you ever rest Cucurella - the guy can run forever. At least the changes were made quickly but we still overcommit with a defence that is just not up to it.

Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Keith Andrews was promoted to the Brentford head coach's role after serving as their set-piece coach. His impact on the team is clear.

Chelsea were peppered with long throw-ins from defender Michael Kayode throughout the match. When he went off in the second half, someone else had to step up.

Schade, having scored with his feet, launched the ball into the box to set up a goal with his hands and when asked about his impact, Andrews said: "That's quite unique, isn't it? Yes, it is.

"But it's not unique for this football club, I must say. I find with the modern game, and it's always been the way when the top teams do it, it's accepted. It's OK to do. It's been a prevalent part of what this club has done for numerous years.

"I was obviously in a different role last year, where we caused a lot of chaos from situations like that. We'll always try and find ways to get results and win games. It's nice that we're able to have multiple players able to take long throws.

"If you feel a long throw will help you with what you've got, A, the delivery and B, the physicality, to be able to cause problems and create opportunities, then I think it would be foolish not to use it."

Maresca added: "The problem is that they have Kayode, they have [Mathias] Jensen, they have [Ethan] Pinnock, and then Schade at the end. I think we tried to deal with that, knowing that they are so dangerous, because they can arrive in the six-yard box very easily."

Andrews also said substitute Carvalho will become a "big player for this football club" and he praised Henderson, as England manager Thomas Tuchel watched on.

Read more on the Bees' long throws

Pundits Ashley Williams and Shay Given join host Mark Chapman to bring you the action and talking points from Saturday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Everton 0-0 Aston Villa

• Newcastle 1-0 Wolves

• West Ham 0-3 Tottenham

Brentford manager Keith Andrews, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "Delighted with the approach of the group, the character we constantly show. The equaliser came very late but it's what I felt we deserved from the game in terms of the application, the quality the players showed for large parts. Inevitably they're going to have periods where they're on top but I felt we dealt with a lot of that really well tonight."

On Jordan Henderson's assist: "I think the detail around the way we wanted to approach it tonight was Kevin being slightly higher because of the pace. We didn't want to be camped in. Kevin's pace is just sensational and he's constantly growing in confidence. He's in a different stature now in our group, he's shown last season for large parts what a good player he is and he will be a big part."

On when he decided to change formation: "Probably about 10 days ago or so. We still had a large number of players here for the international break. I felt it might be a bit of a risk for Dango [Outarra] depending on the minutes he played. You're always at the mercy of who comes back and how many minutes. I just felt it was the right way to go and the type of opposition tonight."

On long throws: "It's been here for numerous years, it's not new to us. That was probably the last eight to 10 games of last season, big Champions League games it was quite prominent and I felt it would probably trickle down the game. I felt there's a little bit of snobbery in the game around scenarios like that, but if the big boys do it then it seems to be accepted."

Did you know?

• Fabio Carvalho's equaliser was the seventh goal Brentford have scored from a throw in the Premier League since the start of last season - at least five more than any other side.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Brentford's performance

What did you make of Chelsea's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Mikkel Damsgaard misses out for Brentford as they make three changes for the west London derby.

Brentford XI: Kelleher, Kayode, Collins, Pinnock, van den Berg, Yarmoliuk, Henderson, Jensen, Lewis-Potter, Schade, Thiago

Subs: Valdimarsson, Hickey, Henry, Ajer, Janelt, Onyeka, Carvalho, Outtara, Nelson

Forward Facundo Buonanotte comes in for his Chelsea debut to replace Cole Palmer, who is only deemed fit enough for the bench.

Fellow new signing Alejandro Garnacho is on the bench for Chelsea.

Chelsea XI: Sanchez, Chalobah, Adarabioyo, Fofana, Hato, Caicedo, Fernandez, Neto, Buonanotte, Gittens, Joao Pedro

Subs: Jorgensen, James, Gusto, Cucurella, Acheampong, Santos, George, Palmer, Garnacho

There are eight games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Arsenal v Nottingham Forest (12:30)

• Bournemouth v Brighton

• Crystal Palace v Sunderland

• Everton v Aston Villa - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Fulham v Leeds United

• Newcastle v Wolves - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• West Ham v Tottenham (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Brentford v Chelsea (20:00)

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Everton v Aston Villa" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Newcastle v Wolves", for instance.

Find out more about how to listen to Premier League football on BBC Sounds

There was such a crazy finish to Brentford's defeat by Sunderland that the Bees must still be wondering how they lost.

I had been very confident Keith Andrews' side would go to the Stadium of Light and win after watching them beat Aston Villa the previous week - a result they thoroughly deserved.

I have to be careful with this prediction, though. At this stage of the season I can get hoodwinked a bit because I have covered some teams when they have played well, and it means I overlook some of their opposition's qualities.

Chelsea have some fantastic players and have made a decent start to the season so they have to be favourites here. But I am going to stick with my instincts and say Brentford will give them a good game too.

In fact, the more I think about it, the more this smells like a west London derby draw. The points have been shared in this fixture in the past three seasons, so let's go for four draws in a row.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist

Chelsea go in search of just their second Premier League win at Gtech Community Stadium, taking on a Brentford side vying for back-to-back home victories under new boss Keith Andrews. BBC Sport takes a look at some of the key themes before Saturday's match.

Many of Chelsea's players, particularly their South American contingent, spent the international break criss-crossing the globe - but little travel has been required so far in the Premier League, with this the Blues' fourth consecutive game against London opposition.

They are just the second side in the top four tiers of English football to begin a league season with four successive London derbies.

Enzo Maresca's side have taken seven points from their opening three fixtures, conceding just once - maintaining their strong defensive record from the final three months of last season. They have kept nine clean sheets in their past 15 top-flight matches, more than any other side since 25 February.

While they have benefited from contentious VAR interventions which led to disallowed goals for Fulham and Crystal Palace, Chelsea have coped well without key centre-back Levi Colwill, who will miss most of the season after injuring his knee in pre-season.

The Club World Cup winners suffered another injury blow when summer signing Liam Delap hurt his hamstring against Fulham, ruling the centre-forward out for up to eight weeks. The Blues briefly considered cancelling Nicolas Jackson's move to Bayern Munich but instead signed Facundo Buonanotte on loan from Brighton and recalled Marc Guiu from his loan spell at Sunderland.

Striker Guiu, 19, played three times for the Black Cats, including a late cameo in their 2-1 win over Brentford last time out, so could make consecutive appearances against the Bees.

Brentford in profit but could it prove costly in long run?

This is the first of back-to-back London derbies for Brentford, who also visit Fulham next weekend.

They suffered a frustrating defeat at the Stadium of Light on 30 August, finishing empty handed despite taking the lead after 77 minutes, having earlier missed a penalty. Those dropped points could prove crucial at the end of the season if the two clubs up being direct rivals in the relegation battle.

Brentford can no longer call upon one of the Premier League's most reliable penalty-takers, having sold Bryan Mbeumo to Manchester United in July. The club also finally allowed Yoane Wissa to join Newcastle on deadline day, meaning both of last season's joint-top scorers have departed.

The Bees have spent £84m on seven new signings but recouped £133m in sales, resulting in a net profit of approximately £49m this summer, second only to Bournemouth.

Overall, six clubs finished with a surplus but of those sides only Brentford have a new manager at the helm, underlining the difficult task facing rookie boss Andrews.

Keith Andrews has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Chelsea at Gtech Community Stadium (20:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Andrews confirmed Vitaly Janelt is available for the first time since suffering a heel injury in April. The midfielder played 45 minutes for Brentford's B team on Tuesday.

• Michael Kayode is available after recovering from an illness picked up on international duty with Italy Under-21s while Paris Maghoma is still building fitness as he recovers from a hamstring injury.

• Gustavo Nunes will return to team training next week having missed a block of pre-season.

• New signing Reiss Nelson will feature: "Reiss will be involved. He gives us the type of player we don't have on that side of the pitch. He's a dribbler and technically very good. He complements what we have. He has slotted in seamlessly and adds a skillset we needed."

• Andrews also commented on Yoane Wissa's move to Newcastle: "All along, I was very much that I expected Yoane to stay. Up until the very last press conference before we played Sunderland, it was nowhere near a move. I wanted Yoane to stay. I didn't really want to lose that amount of goals out of the building but at the same time I was very understanding of the way this club works. The medium to long-term future of the club is very important."

• On facing west London rivals Chelsea: "The game is about players and fans. The fans will be feeling it tomorrow. We need to get them engaged in the game. That's going to be a really important part. We need to make it the type of game that suits us."

• More on Saturday's game: "There'll be a narrative around the game that we're little Brentford and they're Chelsea - and I quite like that. I think it suits us. I think it suits where we are and the steps we need to take to where we're going to get to."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Ian Westbrook
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

So the Keith Andrews era has started with two wins, one in the Carabao Cup, and two defeats.

Without conceding that last-gasp goal which beat us at Sunderland, most of us would have been happy with the four points we would have had from our first three Premier League games.

We now head into a tricky run of matches - especially at home - over the next two months.

At least we don't leave London in that time, although we will make up for that later in the season. In fact, our next game outside the capital is at Brighton in late November. However, not one of our six September and October Premier League fixtures kicks off at 15:00 on a Saturday.

And the list of matches is daunting. The next four visitors to the Gtech are Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool. Throw in away derbies at local rivals Fulham and West Ham and Andrews has a lot on his plate.

The task ahead cannot have been helped by the sudden departure of one of his new assistant coaches - Martin Drury - at the weekend.

Andrews will be hoping that the 16 first-team squad players away on international duty at the moment all return unscathed.

One thing he will need to sort out is who is the designated penalty-taker in matches. There was confusion when we won a spot-kick at Sunderland over who was going to take it.

In the stands, we all assumed it would be Igor Thiago, who found the net from the spot at Nottingham Forest, but after a discussion Kevin Schade took the ball, stepped up and saw his weak penalty saved.

Andrews said afterwards that everyone practises penalties, but surely the taker must be chosen before the players leave the dressing room.

Find more from Ian Westbrook at Beesotted podcast, external

Nizaar Kinsella and Sami Mokbel
BBC Sport football reporters

Image source, Getty Images

Brentford first-team coach Martin Drury is set to leave the club just two months after joining.

Drury role took the role of assistant first-team coach in July following new head coach Keith Andrews appointment.

But Drury is leaving the Gtech Community Stadium just three games into the new season. There has been no confirmation over the reasons for his exit.

Drury arrived at the club in pre-season following a six-month spell at Valencia where he worked under Carlos Corberan.

He previously held coaching positions at Manchester United and West Brom.

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Brentford's spending and finances have been the subject of several questions sent in via our 'Ask about Brentford' form."

One fan asked whether the Bees are in a financial surplus or deficit regarding player sales and transfers in since their promotion to the Premier League in 2021.

Read below what our BBC Sport statistician found out.

Since earning promotion to the Premier League in 2021, Brentford have gone on to well and truly establish themselves in the top-flight, even finishing in the top half of the table in two of the last four seasons.

What makes their success even more impressive is that they've not spent like crazy to gain a foothold in the Premier League. With the close of the summer transfer window, their net spend since being promoted is just £97.6m across five seasons, an average of around £20m per season.

If we compare that to other teams, 17 have spent more than Brentford in that time, including many that have failed to establish themselves in the top-flight such as Leeds, Southampton, Burnley and Ipswich.

This summer's transfer business has been very different to previous seasons, however. While the Bees still spent money bringing in the likes of Dango Ouattara for £37m, this summer also saw key players leave for big money, with Bryan Mbeumo joining Manchester United for £65m and Yoane Wissa moving to Newcastle for £50m.

While it means that Brentford made a net profit for the first time in the Premier League, Bees fans will be hoping that such good news in their accounts doesn't prove too costly on the pitch this season.

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The dust has just about settled on Brentford's busy transfer window.

In total, the Bees' brought in seven players for a total of about £84.3m based on reported initial fees.

Those incomings were:

• Dango Ouattara - Bournemouth (permanent)

• Antoni Milambo - Feyenoord (permanent)

• Michael Kayode - Fiorentina (permanent)

• Caoimhin Kelleher - Liverpool (permanent)

• Romelle Donovan - Birmingham City (permanent)

• Jordan Henderson - Ajax (free)

• Reiss Nelson - Arsenal (loan)

Heading the other way, Brentford had 10 notable outgoings.

These included the permanent exits of star forwards Bryan Mbeumo to Manchester United and Yoane Wissa to Newcastle, as well as club captain Christian Norgaard to Arsenal.

Of all the summer incomings at Gtech stadium, who do you think will have the biggest impact?

Rank them here

Ian Westbrook
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

What brilliant business by Brentford director of football Phil Giles to get £55m for a player who turns 29 this week.

I fully support the Bees' decision not to cave in and sell Yoane Wissa off cheaply just because he basically threw a strop. If we had done, it would have opened the door for other players to do the same potentially in the future.

With the funds received for Bryan Mbeumo, it has been a very lucrative transfer window cash-wise for Brentford.

However, losing those two along with captain Christian Norgaard and goalkeeper Mark Flekken has undoubtedly weakened our squad.

The club deserves credit for replacing all but Wissa - Mbeumo with record signing Dango Ouattara, Norgaard with Jordan Henderson and Flekken with Caoimhin Kelleher. This is especially as Mbeumo was the only expected summer departure.

We have also made the signing of Michael Kayode permanent, brought in Antoni Milambo and, on deadline day, Reiss Nelson.

If everybody stays fit, we are well stocked for goalkeepers, defenders, attacking midfielders and wingers and also have plenty of players who can play comfortably in more than one position.

However, where we are really lacking is up front.

Igor Thiago is effectively in his first full season at the club, having missed almost the whole of last term with injury. Despite his early goals, the likelihood is that he will need a year to adjust - and we have no senior second striker.

While Kevin Schade and Fabio Carvalho could play in that role, it is not their natural position so we are going to have to hope that Thiago stays fit and settles quicker than anticipated. Replacing the 39 goals of Mbeumo and Wissa from last season won't be easy.

For that reason I can only rate our transfer window at 6/10.

Find more from Ian Westbrook at Beesotted podcast, external

Yoane Wissa's deadline-day move from Brentford to Newcastle was completed with only 30 seconds to spare, after the forward initially failed to sign one of the forms. (Sky Sports), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Brentford have completed the signing of Arsenal winger Reiss Nelson on a season-long loan.

The 25-year-old Gunners youth product made 90 appearances for his boyhood club and played 11 times on loan for Fulham last season.

This will be the fourth loan move of Nelson's career, after previously having spells with Bundesliga side Hoffenheim and Dutch club Feyenoord.

"Reiss has a skillset that will complement the rest of the attacking players we have," said Bees boss Keith Andrews. "He's a dribbler and he's very comfortable with the ball at his feet.

"I really like his Premier League experience and know-how of the league, as well as his age profile.

"He's coming into the optimum years of his career, and he's shown a real desire to come here when there's been a lot of interest elsewhere."

Image source, Brentford Fc