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Beesotted contributor The Gowler (@BeesBreakdown) gives us the tactical and statistical lowdown of Brentford’s draw against West Ham. 

Thomas Frank deployed a 4-3-3 to face a struggling West Ham side. The Bees backline consisted of Sepp van den Berg, Collins, Pinnock, and Ajer. Janelt anchored Brentford’s midfield trio while Damsgaard and Carvalho joined him. Schade, Mbeumo, and Lewis-Potter formed the front 3.

Lopetegui’s West Ham side came out in a 4-1-4-1 with Emerson, Kilman, Todibo, and Wan-Bissaka at the back. Rodriguez the defensive midfielder joined Paqueta and Soucek in midfield, while Kudus and Bowen, the wide players. Antonio led the line as the target man up front.

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Summary

Brentford held 57% possession but failed to create much going forward. West Ham’s tactical adjustments to set up more of a midblock instead of a high press gave the Bees some issues. The Bees only created 0.37 xG, while West Ham created 0.99 xG.

A trend that is continuing so far this season, Brentford are placing their shots well when they are on target, indicated by Brentford’s 1.25 expected Goals on Target (xGOT). Brentford are overperforming their xG, a welcome change from last season, scoring 8 goals on 7.0 xG and accumulating an impressive 11.2 xGOT.

One area of massive improvement has been Damsgaard out of possession play. He led the squad with 9 tackles and interceptions, a testament to his positioning and workrate. Damsgaard has also played phenomenally well with the ball at his feet, ending with the most progressive passes.

West Ham typically avoided Brentford’s high press, launching all of their goal kicks long, and attempting the most long passes against Brentford so far this season. The Hammers generally failed to take advantage of Brentford in transitional moments after losing possession and would routinely send backwards passes instead of progressing the ball.