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Beesotted contributor Jacob ‘The Gowler’ Gowler (@BeesBreakdown) gives us the tactical and statistical lowdown of Brentford’s draw agaisnt Brighton.

Thomas Frank deployed a 4-2-3-1 with Lewis-Potter, Ben Mee, Collins, and Roerslev on the backline. Injuries to Pinnock, Ajer, and van den Berg left little Premier League experience on the bench. Janelt and Nørgaard formed Brentford’s double pivot, while Damsgaard roamed freely as the 10. Schade and Mbeumo the wide players that joined Wissa up top.

Hürzeler’s Brighton side matched up in a 4-2-3-1 with Veltman, van Hecke, Dunk, and Estupinán on the backline. O’Riley and Baleba the defensive midfielders, with Enciso the creative option going forward. Brighton’s heavily relied upon wingers, Gruda and Mitoma joined Joao Pedro on the front line.

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Brighton held 58% possession but had very similar xG and xGOT numbers as Brentford. 1.31 for Brighton and 1.07 xG for the Bees. Brighton ended with 24 shots, yet wasted their big chances, and Brentford forced them into some low percentage opportunities from outside the box.

For the Bees, the standout player has obviously been Damsgaard, so it’s no surprise he led the squad in xGBuildUp, which takes the total xG of every possession the player is involved in. What sticks out, is that Valdimarsson was 2nd for xGBuildUp, which backs up the eye test for his calm distribution and suggests Thomas Frank didn’t need to adjust his tactics with Flekken going off injured.

Overall, Brentford did well to progress the ball but lacked composure in the final third. The Bees used Damsgaard and Wissa dropping in, but Brighton consistently marked them, which pulled players out of position and opened up space in-behind. The Bees still failed to take advantages of these moments and earned a hard fought point.