Brentford made it five away wins on the bounce with a 2-1 victory at Bournemouth, whose hopes of Champions League qualification took a dent.
A dangerous run and cross from Milos Kerkez was the catalyst for Vitaly Janelt sending the ball into his own net to open the scoring for the hosts, but Brentford hit back through a Yoane Wissa header – his 14th league goal of the season, with home goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga caught in no-man’s land.
Antoine Semenyo crashed a close-range header off the crossbar as the home side played with their usual threat and intensity, however, their final finish was lacking.
Brentford struck against the run of play to snatch the points when Christian Norgaard thumped home after a long throw caused panic in the Bournemouth box and they held on to win a fifth consecutive away league game for the first time in 15 years.
Brentford captain Christian Norgaard makes it 2-1 to the away team
Andoni Iraola’s team have now lost four of their last six Premier League games as their season seems to be stalling at the wrong time. They are four points off Manchester City in fifth.
Meanwhile, the Bees are now unbeaten in all six meetings with Bournemouth in the Premier League and remain the only team the Cherries have not beaten in the top flight.
Norgaard stock is rising – but what happens next?
Christian Norgaard wheels away in celebration after giving Brentford the lead
Sky Sports’ Lewis Jones:
Clubs across Europe must be keeping a close eye on Norgaard’s contract situation.
Yet again this season, the Danish midfielder has been the bedrock and beating heart of what makes Brentford such a dangerous team for any opposition – as Bournemouth found out. His influence on the pitch in getting Thomas Frank’s message across is vital for keeping Brentford’s performance levels so consistent. And, he pops up with the odd goal or two, which always helps. His winning goal here was his third strike in eight appearances.
Norgaard’s contract runs out this summer although the club have the option to extend it by a year, but nothing has been communicated regarding the situation, which must have the Bees’ fanbase a little concerned. Everton have been reportedly linked, which looks a sideway move when simply assessing both teams’ league position.
The saving grace for the Bees in convincing Norgaard to stay just might be his age. He is 31-years-old now so his chances of nailing down a long-term contract somewhere which would be deemed a step up from Brentford look unlikely.
They must do everything they can to keep him.
Opta stats: Wissa and Mbeumo star
- Wissa has been directly involved in 16 goals (14 goals, 2 assists) in the Premier League this season, his most in a single campaign, while he is the first Bees player to net 40 goals in the competition.
- Bryan Mbeumo has been directly involved in 20 goals (15 goals, 5 assists) in the Premier League this season, becoming just the second Brentford player to reach this milestone in a single campaign, after Ivan Toney in 2022-23 (24, 20 goals, 4 assists).
- Mbeumo has assisted twice as many Premier League goals (6) for team-mate Yoane Wissa than any other Brentford player, with each of his last two assists for the Congolese forward coming against Bournemouth.
