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Beesotted contributors The Gowler and Paul Kowalczyk (@BeesBreakdown) give us the tactical and statistical lowdown of Brentford’ draw with Everton.

Matchweek 4 saw Thomas Frank sticking with the same formation he used against Fulham. Using a 4-3-3 Brentford looked to play long balls in behind the fullbacks. Brentford start out using similar tactics but keeping more possession. Pontus Jansson missed out on the match because of a “minor foot injury.” Brentford with three centerbacks missing time due to injury sees Zanka and Ben Mee get the start. Damsgaard, Baptiste, and Keane Lewis- Potter provide good depth options off the bench. Everton lined up in a 3-4-3 with no true out-and-out striker and struggled to create chances or control the box like Mitrovic and Fulham did last week.

Brentford’s midfield looked much more lively this week with Norgaard pushing possession out of the back for Jensen and Dasilva to cycle and progress the ball into the final third. Dasilva particularly looked very threatening, touching the ball the most in the attacking third and completing the most successful dribbles while also progressing the most while dribbling. Toney was not as involved in this game as he only touched the ball in Everton’s box twice. Brentford failed to convert on a few key chances, only scoring 1 goal off 2.8 xG. While Brentford ended up with better chances, they still struggled to create high chance passes. Their xA, which measures the likelihood that a given pass will become an assist was only 1.6. The majority of this is made up from Rico Henry and Jensen, who had 0.6 and 0.5 respectively. Wissa especially seemed to struggle as he missed a clear chance, only successfully received 46% of passes targeting him and only completed 4 passes.

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Wissa was subbed off for Keane Lewis Potter in the 67’ along with Vitaly Janelt and Shandon Baptiste coming on at the same time for Norgaard and Zanka. At this time, Frank switches to a 3- 4-3 with Mikkel Damsgaard coming on in the 78’ for Mbeumo. Keane Lewis-Potter looked lively and had the most touches in the attacking box out of anyone else in the game, assisting Janelt for the tying goal. Damsgaard played a similar position to Mbeumo, cutting inside to hang at the top of the box on the right side, but did not get as involved as we would have hoped.

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Before this match, Brentford was highly overperforming their xG and Everton were bottom of the league underperforming their xG. Unfortunately, this trend did not continue today as Brentford severely underperformed their expected goals and Everton overperformed. Wissa and Mbeumo missed huge chances and made some simple mistakes. Keane Lewis-Potter provided a much-needed substitution for Wissa, while Damsgaard subbed on for Mbeumo. Brentford’s next match is Tuesday against Crystal Palace. A midweek match may see KLP and Damsgaard get the start and a chance to prove their place in the starting XI.

Quick Stats:
At the half
xG: Brentford 0.92 – 0.67 Everton Full Time
Possession: Brentford 58% – 42% Everton xG: Brentford 2.50 – 1.12 Everton Other Brentford stats:
Total Shots: 19 Interceptions: 8
Aerial duels won: 20 (57%) Accurate long balls: 17 (36%)

Summary

A frustrating match for the Bees ends with Everton drawing Brentford at home. Brentford controlled the ball much like they did against Fulham, they were much better at creating chances for themselves inside the box while limiting Everton’s shots. Compared to the game against Fulham, Brentford passed the ball 97 more times with 7% better accuracy and 130 more passes in the opposition half. Everton looked very one dimensional, only looking dangerous off long balls beating our defenders with pace. Brentford, on the other hand, threatened in multiple ways but were unable to finish their chances. Frank’s switch to a 3-4-3 in the 67’ helped hold the ball further into Everton’s half as the toffees sat back, hoping for their first win of the season. Shandon Baptiste, Keane Lewis-Potter, Vitaly Janelt and Mikkel Damsgaard provided quality and energy coming off the bench in the late second half. Brentford continued their streak of goals off set pieces this week, equalizing off a corner kick in the 84’, but failed to get the winner. A few players will have wanted some of their chances back. The Premier league standings at the end of the season are defined by very fine margins and continuing to miss chances like they did could cost Brentford in the long term. Make sure to keep up with our Twitter, @BeesBreakdown, to check out upcoming threads on Dasilva’s ability to progress the ball and create space as well as what Damsgaard might bring to the Palace game Tuesday.

The Gowler and Paul Kowalczyk