Nottingham Forest ended Brentford's unbeaten home record in the Premier League this season with an excellent performance in a 2-0 win at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Of their 23 points this season, 22 came at home for Brentford, but goals either side of half-time from Ola Aina and Anthony Elanga on Saturday ended their impressive run as Forest recorded a fifth league win in the 2024/25 season. .
Aina's goal seven minutes before half-time was a reward for Forest's patience after a brilliant start from Brentford, with Mikkel Damsgaard and Yoane Wissa going close.
It was a defensive error that earned Elanga an early Christmas present shortly after the break. Keane Lewis-Potter's mistake was seized upon by the former Manchester United winger, and it never looked like Brentford would stage a comeback.
The win moved Forest, at least temporarily, into third place, and they will certainly be in the top four going into Christmas.
THE MIGHTY FOREST. pic.twitter.com/PzwmhVitAY
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) December 21, 2024
Data debrief: Bee attack misses its sting
Brentford fans hoped the comforts of home would ensure a Merry Christmas but their injury-hit team were exposed to a well-drilled performance from the visitors.
The goals from Aina and Elanga highlighted the problems in Brentford's defence, with both goals coming from defensive errors, but the lack of attacking prowess was a bigger point of frustration for Thomas Frank.
Eight of Bryan Mbeumo's 10 Premier League goals this season have come on home turf and striker Yoane Wissa has scored eight of his nine at Gtech. However, both players struggled to make an impact on the match, with Wissa failing to register a shot on target and Mbeumo Matz testing Sels just once.
The pair are crucial to Brentford's attacking performance, and with the Bees only recording chances worth 0.8 expected goals (xG), which is their lowest at home in their last six Premier League games, it is clear that Forest are the stars of the Bees has been well chained.
Meanwhile, Forest have collected 31 points from their 17 Premier League games this season (W9 D4 L4); it is the first time they have achieved more than 30 points in a top-flight season since finishing third in 1987-88 (14th game).
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