Mbeumo On Target As Brentford Beat Brighton 4-2
Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo scored twice as the Bees dealt a blow to Brighton’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s European competitions.
The Cameroon international gave Thomas Frank’s side the lead with a powerful right-footed effort following a defence-splitting Keane Lewis-Potter through ball.
Striker Danny Welbeck equalised for Brighton with his ninth league goal of the season – equalling his most prolific Premier League campaign – by heading in Mats Wieffer’s cross on the stroke of half-time.
Mbeumo, 25, scored his second of the day and 18th of the season when his curling effort found the bottom corner after a slight deflection off Lewis Dunk.
The Cameroonian turned provider for Brentford’s third, teeing up strike partner Yoane Wissa, who saw his effort deflect in after cannoning off defender Jan Paul van Hecke.
It went from bad to worse for Brighton as Brazilian striker Joao Pedro was shown a straight red card for lashing out at Brentford defender Nathan Collins in an off-the-ball incident.
The Seagulls set up a tense finish when substitute Kaoru Mitoma scored their second, beating Mark Flekken with a deft left-footed finish following Jack Hinshelwood’s through ball.
But Brentford captain Christian Norgaard put the result beyond doubt in the sixth minute of stoppage time when he headed in Mathias Jensen’s free-kick.
A clash of heads between Brighton defender Van Hecke and Brentford’s Yunus Konak in the final minute of injury time led to a delay of 10 minutes, with the Dutchman eventually being carried off on a stretcher after receiving oxygen.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler was unable to offer an update on Van Hecke’s condition after the match but said “hopefully he’s back on the pitch soon”.
The defeat means Brighton have earned just one point from their past four matches, leaving them 10th in the table, six points behind sixth-placed Chelsea and two points ahead of 11th-placed Brentford.
Brentford are the only club in the Premier League to have more than one player in the top-10 scorers this season.
Those players are, of course, Mbeumo and Wissa.
Only three players – Mohamed Salah, Alexander Isak and Erling Haaland – have scored more than the 18 goals Mbeumo has managed this season, while Wissa is fifth in the standings with 16.
But the pair are so much more than just goals.
Mbeumo, in particular, had an afternoon to remember against Brighton.
He ran the channels expertly, giving his side a constant threat on the break.
His first goal of the afternoon came via a rapid counter-attack, which Frank had prepared his side for.
“We knew we could hit them in behind on the transition and this is what we did,” said Mbeumo.
“We respected the gameplan very well.”
Mbuemo and Wissa have scored in the same game seven times this season – more than any other pairing in the Premier League.