Beesotted contributor Jacob ‘The Gowler’ Gowler (@BeesBreakdown) gives us the tactical and statistical lowdown of Brentford’s loss against Brighton.
Keith Andrews deployed his familiar 4-2-3-1 with Kayode, van den Berg, Collins, and Ajer on the backline. Henderson and Yarmoliuk the defensive midfielders with Damsgaard roaming ahead of them. Ouattara and Schade the wingers looking to support Thiago leading the line.
Fabian Hürzeler’s side came out in a 4-2-3-1 with Wieffer, van Hecke, Boscagli, and Kadioglu on the backline. Baleba and Ayari set up as defensive midfielders with Rutter just ahead of them in the number 10 role. Talented wingers, Minteh and Gomez looked to set up Welbeck in-behind.
Hürzeler made two halftime substitutions, a like-for-like change with Dunk coming in for Boscagli who picked up a yellow in the first half, and De Cuyper for Baleba in midfield. Hürzeler’s change to bring on De Cuyper, a left-back, for defensive midfielder Baleba, subtly shifted their formation in possession. De Cuyper could act as a psuedo defensive midfielder, but typically positioned himself out wide which pushed Kadioglu farther forward.
Brentford won the xG battle, but again struggled to score from open play with only 0.13 xG coming from open play. Brighton dominated possession and controlled the game with third man passes, quick one touch passes, and their relentless high press.
The Seagulls pressed high to disrupt Brentford’s buildup, with 6 tackles in Brentford’s own third. Brentford often forced wide and left with no options, reluctant to pass through the middle of the pitch. Even after winning back possession, Brighton’s counterpress quickly troubled the Bees.
Out-of-possession, Brentford’s patient press limited artificial counters, but a well-worked goal got Brighton back in the match. After doing well to prevent transitional moments, the winner came from a Brighton clearance and an unorganized Brentford defence.
