Beesotted contributor Jacob Gowler @FrackTheFrogKid along with and Paul Kowalczyk give their statistical breakdown of Brentford’s draw against Leicester at the King Power Stadium. Jacob will be discussing his thoughts on future matches on Sunday afternoons on Beesotted Global. You can check out Global by clicking this link Beesotted.com/Global
Thomas Frank’s man management was the difference in the Bee’s first match. Only giving up goals from defencive errors, the squad kept their composure to fight back and come from two goals down. While struggling during the majority of the first half, there are many positive takeaways for the Bees to travel home with. The defensive lineup included two new signings in Hickey and Mee, who had solid debuts considering the complex systems Thomas Frank employs. Brentford set up in a 4-3-3 with no surprises. A strong bench features Josh Dasilva, Halil Dervisoglu, and new signing Keane Lewis-Potter.
First Half
There were many changes to the formation and players’ roles throughout the match which only speaks to the intelligence of the squad in order to work together effectively through changing situations.
Although Brentford set up in a 4-3-3 going forward, the first twenty minutes played out with Brentford in a compact 4-4-2 block on defence with Toney and Jensen leading the first pressing line. This compact system allowed Leicester to find spaces in wide areas and were able to play many crosses into the box from these areas.
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Second Half
Brentford started the second half by pressing hard but a sloppy touch by Ben Mee and subsequent failure of the defence to close down Dewsbury-Hall lead to the second Leicester goal within seconds of the 2nd half kickoff. Brentford did not seem bothered by this lapse in concentration however, and started controlling the ball more while being further up the pitch. A few successful combinations down the left side lead to Toney and Wissa rotating positions in order to get Toney more involved in the build up and create space in the middle for Wissa or Mbeumo to move into.
As Brentford began to feel more comfortable in possession going forward, bringing on Dasilva was perfect timing. The midfield had failed to create solid chances and seemed static before Dasilva was brought on. Leicester’s defence found him much harder to track and close down with his constant movement and wonderful press resistant dribbling. Keane Lewis-Potter was brought on during this same substitution and replaced Ben Mee, whose left center half role was filled in by Janelt.
The formation going forward changed at this point to a 3-4-3 with Hickey staying back as a center half while Mbeumo and Henry pushed forward on the wings. The front three of Toney, Wissa, and Lewis-Potter was free flowing that allowed Lewis-Potter to make runs into open space, creating openings and chances for other players or make runs off Toney’s first time flicks.
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Quick Stats:
At half time
Possession: Leicester 62% – 38% Brentford
xG: Leicester 0.46 – 0.15 Brentford
Brentford only two shots from Mbeumo and Wissa
Full Time
Possession: Leicester 56% – 44% Brentford
xG: Leicester 0.53 – 0.67
Other Brentford stats:
Total Shots: 8
Interceptions: 8
Aerial duels won: 13 (52%)
Accurate crosses: 1 (6%)
In the first half Brentford resorted to playing wide, but struggled to generate any chances with only 1 accurate cross the entire match. Brentford focused on winning aerial duels and cutting off passing lanes looking for interceptions to counter quickly. In the second half as Brentford made substitutions and switched formations to be more attacking they ended up increasing their possession.
Summary
Overall Brentford started strong offensively but Thomas Frank made an adjustment 20 minutes in to provide more cover for Leicester’s attack. Mbeumo had the difficult task of playing right wing back, while Hickey slotted in as a right centerback. The Bees struggled going forward without much creativity in the midfield with Leicester crowding the middle of the pitch. A lapse in zonal marking on a corner and an excellent shot from distance saw the Bees go down 2-0. Coming on in the 59th minute Dasilva provided the creativity needed in the midfield. Another formation change for Brentford saw more success with numbers forward. The Bees high pressing and interceptions got them back in the match with a Rico Henry assist to Toney slotting it in after a great touch into space. Josh Dasilva got the Bees level giving Thomas Frank a tough decision with how to fit him in the starting XI next week.
Jacob Gowler and Paul Kowalczyk
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