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Beesotted contributors The Gowler and Paul Kowalczyk (@BeesBreakdown) give us the tactical and statistical lowdown of Brentford’s opening match draw against Tottenham.

Brentford kicked off Premier League Season 3 against Tottenham at the GTech. Brentford came out in their 3-5-2 with Ajer, Pinnock, and Collins at the back as Ben Mee missed out due to a minor injury. Hickey and Henry were the wingbacks, while the midfield consisted of Jensen, Nørgaard and Janelt. Mbeumo and Wissa started as the forward pairing with Ivan Toney joining back with the team in January. Mark Flekken got his Premier League debut, with David Raya on the move to Arsenal.

Tottenham, under new manager Ange Postecoglou, would come out in a 4-2-3-1, bringing a modern approach to the Big 6 side. When in possession, Tottenham would use a box midfield, commonly used by Arsenal, Man City, and Liverpool. Van de Ven and Romero was the CB pairing, while Emerson and Udogie were the fullbacks. Bissouma and Skipp started as the defensive midfielders with Son, Maddison, and Kulusevski in front of them. Richarlison got the start up top, as Harry Kane was sold to Bayern Munich.

1st Minute

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37th Minute

45 + 5 Minutes

45 + 10 Minutes

58th Minute

64th Minute

Quick Stats:

Possession: Brentford 31% – 69% Tottenham

xG: Brentford 2.22 – 1.27 Tottenham

xGOT: Brentford 1.73 – 1.11 Tottenham

Shots: Brentford 11 – 18 Tottenham

Shots on Target: Brentford 6 – 6 Tottenham

Clearances: Brentford 34 – 17 Tottenham

Other Brentford stats:

Interceptions: 8

Aerial duels won: 15 (56%)

 

 

Summary

Brentford only created 1.4 non-penalty xG, but did well to limit Spurs from creating too many dangerous chances. Brentford’s out of possession compact shape generally prevented Spurs from combining in the center of the pitch. Spurs were typically forced into wide areas as Brentford worked to disrupt their box midfield.

Tottenham’s relatively new tactics helped Brentford take advantage of the space left behind by their fullbacks getting forward. Tottenham’s 2-3-5 left them vulnerable to Brentford’s quick counters.

Of course, Brentford did miss Toney’s hold up play and aerial presence, but Thomas Frank has been slowly incorporating new tactics to make up for this loss. At times, Brentford may struggle to keep possession and not having an outlet like Toney up top will make it even more difficult. To help alleviate this, Wissa and Mbeumo have both been much more involved in link up play, dropping much deeper to help keep possession.

Rico Henry racked up 0.7 xG and played a vital role going forward for the Bees. Look for him to have a big season, especially when Brentford are playing in a 3-5-2. Nathan Collins also had a strong debut, although Bees fans will still be hoping to see Ben Mee back on the pitch soon. Brentford fans will also be hoping Jensen’s injury is minor as he is so vital to Brentford’s tactics.