In what appears to be a repeat of previous versions, the Premier League’s new season brought familiar conditions over to West London, until Brentford manages to secure a victory against Crystal Palace for the first time in nearly half a century, thanks to Yoane Wissa’s decisive goal – a finale reminiscent of a League Cup match back in 1977.
Previous encounters between the two sides ended in 1-1 draws, and it seemed history was bound to repeat itself after Ethan Pinnock accidentally equalised Crystal Palace’s score, negating Bryan Mbeumo’s earlier goal. Nevertheless, with just 14 minutes left on the clock, Wissa clinched the match for his team despite the notable absence of Ivan Toney – England striker’s decision to skip the match amidst rumours of a possible transfer.
The rivalry between the two London clubs dates back even further. The last time Brentford triumphed over Crystal Palace in the league was on the 7th of September, 1963, in the old Division Three.
However, with Palace’s manager Oliver Glasner experiencing a rough season, having already lost Michael Olise to Bayern Munich and speculation surrounding the future of Marc Guéhi, today’s less-than-stellar performance could potentially indicate future challenges.
On this balmy summer day by the river, both teams’ managers, kitted out in white polos and trainers, actively directed their teams through an intense first half. It was barely a minute into the game when Guéhi – Palace captain amidst multiple rejected transfer bids from Newcastle – was compelled to deflect Kevin Schade’s threatening corner kick.
Frank expressed his main desire for the upcoming series to be having “the least amount of injuries in the league”, considering the previous term when only two of his team members were able to play over 30 league games. However, the start of the new season has not been promising, with the team’s expensive acquisition, Igor Thiago – who was supposed to replace Toney if he departed – out of play until year-end due to a knee injury. Thiago was seen as a spectator in the stands.
The Palace team, having Jean-Philippe Mateta as the striker mere days after an Olympic final loss with France, missed an early lead opportunity when Tyrick Mitchell faultily sent his volley wide following a cross from Daniel Muñoz. After that, Daichi Kamada, the incoming player, compelled Brentford’s goalkeeper Mark Flekken into an error, causing Wissa to be penalised for tripping Eberechi Eze. The latter narrowly missed the goal from the imposed free-kick.
Eze thought he had scored with another free-kick that caught Flekken off-guard near his post, but referee Sam Barratt overturned it due to a perceived foul by Will Hughes on Ireland’s Nathan Collins while preparing for the kick.
Glasner was understandably peeved when the video referee indicated that the foul, and subsequently the whistle, preceded the “goal”. His frustrations compounded when Brentford claimed the leading score shortly after. A swift counter-attack trapped Mitchell in the field, and Wissa’s smart knock-on let Mbeumo sail into the box and curl the ball past Dean Henderson, who remained unchallenged by Guéhi.
Henderson made a spectacular instinctual save from a corner to fend off Kristoffer Ajer. Palace was under the impression they were entitled to a penalty when Mateta tumbled in the penalty box, but replay corrected that Flekken had played the ball. Guéhi received a yellow card for a harsh tackle on Mads Roerslev just before half-time after Schade managed to narrow his miss.
Odsonne Édouard came off the bench to replace Mateta in the second half, even as Brentford narrowly missed out on amplifying their lead with Collins just missing touching Pinnock’s assist. Pinnock unintentionally deflected Adam Wharton’s shot, which initially hit Roerslev, only to narrowly miss the goal. His streak of luck came to a halt when a long cross by Mitchell was deflected into the goal by Muñoz, causing dismay for Pinnock and jubilation for Édouard who was pressuring him.
However, Édouard ran prematurely when Eze played him in, leading to a disallowed goal much to the disappointment of the Palace supporters who thought they had gained an advantage. Wharton showed his importance in the midfield, with his long-range shot repelled by Flekken as the away team increased their threat.
Ultimately, it was Wissa who capitalised on his chance after Henderson deflected a shot from Collins, while Flekken made an impressive save to stop a late shot by Eze. – The Guardian.