Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa scored three goals between them as Brentford picked up a 4-2 home victory over Brighton in west London on Saturday.
WATCH – Brentford v Brighton full match replay
The victory snaps Brentford’s eight-game unbeaten skid at home (0W-3D-5L) after they went unbeaten in eight (7W-1D-0L) to start the 2024-25 Premier League season). Mbeumo and Wissa are now up to 18 and 16 goals, respectively, and the Bees are the only side in the Premier League with two players to score more than a dozen goals.
Mbeumo opened the scoring after just nine minutes and it was all Brentford in the first half, but Danny Welbeck headed home just before halftime to send the sides into the break level at 1-1. Mbeumo restored the Bees’ lead three minutes after the restart and Wissa added to it in the 58th minute. To make matters worse, Joao Pedro was sent off three minutes later for kicking out at Nathan Collins. Brighton got the next goal through Kaoru Mitoma in the 81st to make things interesting late, until Christian Norgaard scored from a corner kick in the 94th minute and put the game to bed.
Brentford (46 points) are up to 11th in the PL table with the win, while Brighton (48 points) remain 10th and continue to fall away from the European race.
Mbeumo shining in the shop window
It is widely expected that one of the top sides in the PL (or elsewhere in Europe) will come in for Mbeumo this summer, when he effectively has two years remaining on his contract (club option for 2027), and isn’t he doing Brentford a favor both now and down the road? In his four PL seasons, the 25-year-old Cameroon international’s output has gone from 4 goals and 7 assists, to 9 and 8, to 9 and 6 (missed 13 games), to 18 and 6 (with five games left to play). If not for some guy named Mohamed Salah, he’d be a shoo-in for PL Best XI. Speaking of Salah, Liverpool was one of the clubs previously linked with Mbeumo but given the Egyptian recently signed a new two-year deal you can probably rule them out. Arsenal were also linked in January, but Mbeumo and Bukayo Saka are quite similar in the same position. Chelsea makes a lot of a sense as a destination, but they seem to be targeting younger prospects with unrealized potential these days, rather than prime-age stars already in the PL. So, where’s the perfect landing spot? Newcastle. Whether or not they qualify for the Champions League next season, the Magpies will have the money (pending PSR) and Eddie Howe’s side is crying out for a second goalscorer to team up with Alexander Isak. They’re already a talented counter-attacking side with Anthony Gordon and Jacob Murphy on the flanks, but both tend to be too deferential in the final third when they should be looking to score themselves. Mbeumo wouldn’t have that problem.
Player ratings - Brentford vs Brighton
What’s next?
- Nottingham Forest vs Brentford — Thursday, 2:30 pm ET
- Brighton vs West Ham — Saturday, 10 am ET
Brentford vs Brighton live updates - by Andy Edwards
Brentford vs Brighton final score: 4-2
Goalscorers: Bryan Mbeumo (9', 48'), Danny Welbeck (45'+3), Yoane Wissa (58'), Kaoru Mitoma (81') Christian Norgaard (90'+4)
GOAL! Brentford 4-2 Brighton: Norgaard heads home a corner kick to seal the win (90'+4)
GOAL! Brentford 3-2 Brighton: Mitoma slots home to give the Seagulls a lifeline (81')
RED CARD! Joao Pedro kicks out at Nathan Collins and gets sent off (62')
GOAL! Brentford 3-1 Brighton: Wissa strikes Mbeumo’s cross off Dunk and in (58)
GOAL! Brentford 2-1 Brighton: Mbeumo restores his, Bees’ lead after the restart (48')
GOAL! Brentford 1-1 Brighton: Welbeck heads home right before halftime (45'+3)
GOAL! Brentford 1-0 Brighton: Mbeumo smashes the opener home on a counter (9')
Brentford starting lineup
Flekken - Kayode, Collins, Van den Berg, Lewis-Potter - Norgaard, Yarmolyuk, Damsgaard - Mbeumo, Schade, Wissa
Brighton starting lineup
Verbruggen - Hinshelwood, Van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan - Wieffer, Baleba, O’Riley - Minteh, Pedro, Welbeck
How to watch Brentford vs Brighton live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 10am ET Saturday (April 19)
Venue: Gtech Community Stadium — West London
TV Channel: Peacock
Streaming: Stream live on Peacock
The hosts are winless in three-straight matches, albeit against very challenging opposition. Brentford fell 2-1 at Newcastle before drawing with Chelsea and Arsenal.
As for the visitors, Brighton will have wanted much more than the two points they’ve taken from four matches. Draws with Man City and Leicester City are sandwiched around losses to Villa and Crystal Palace. Brighton have slipped to 10th on the Premier League table, closer to the bottom half of the table than the top seven, while Brentford are five points back of the Seagulls and simply need to win this game — and a few more — to fan the flames of a run toward the Conference or Europa League.
Brentford team news, focus
OUT: Fabio Carvalho (shoulder), Igor Thiago (knee), Josh Dasilva (knee) | QUESTIONABLE: Aaron Hickey (thigh)
Brighton team news, focus
OUT: Georginio Rutter (ankle), Adam Webster (thigh), Tariq Lamptey (ankle), Igor Julio (hamstring), Joel Veltman (ankle), James Milner (thigh), Ferdi Kadioglu (toe)
Brentford vs Brighton prediction
The Bees can be world beaters one day and mistake-makers the next (and, yes, occasionally they do it at the same time). Brighton are in every game as long as Joao Pedro is in the team, and this match really does have the feel of a beauty for neutrals. Brentford 2-2 Brighton.
