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Beesotted contributors The Gowler and Paul Kowalczyk (@BeesBreakdown) give us the tactical and statistical lowdown of Brentford’s defeat against Crystal Palace.

Thomas Frank switched back to a 3-5-2, seemingly to help the Bees defend Palace’s talented wingers. Collins, Pinnock, and Zanka started in a back 3 with Roerslev and Ghoddos the wingbacks. Jensen returned to the starting lineup to combine with Janelt and Nørgaard for Thomas Frank’s ideal midfield trio. Wissa led the line with Keane Lewis-Potter after his bright performance against Wolves.

Roy Hodgson deployed a 4-3-3 with Clyne, Andersen, Guehi, and Mitchell on the backline. Palace’s midfield consisted of Lerma, Eze and newly converted defensive midfielder, Chris Richards. Olise and Ayew were the wide players, while Mateta deployed in a target man role centrally.

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Quick Stats:

Possession: Crystal Palace 46% – 54% Brentford

xG: Crystal Palace 0.98 – 1.39 Brentford

xGOT: Crystal Palace 1.97 – 1.27 Brentford

Shots: Crystal Palace 13 – 9 Brentford

Shots on Target: Crystal Palace 6 – 4 Brentford

Clearances: Crystal Palace 28 – 18 Brentford

PPDA: Crystal Palace 9.14 – 9.30 Brentford

Other Brentford stats:

Interceptions: 9

Aerial duels won: 10 (50%)

 

Summary

The Bees ended with more possession again, but failed to take advantage of the chances they created. Brentford finished with more xG, but the xGOT tells a different story. Crystal palace made the most of their chances, accumulating 1.97 xGOT, while Brentford underperformed their xG again.

Keane Lewis-Potter started the match hot after some combination play from Jensen and Roerslev. The Bees put together a good run of play to create a high percentage opportunity that Lewis-Potter put into the back of the net. A similar chance came 16 minutes later, but that time Lewis-Potter’s shot was saved.

Janelt and Roerslev both ended with 0.6 xAG, while Ghoddos did well playing some long balls into the final third. Another match where the Bees weren’t clinical and didn’t capitalize. Brentford also continue to have the worst Post Shot xG minus Goals Allowed at -8.2. This means that the Bees have let in 8 more goals than expected.