Bryan Mbeumo bagged a brace as Brentford beat Southampton 3-1 at Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.
Mbeumo netted either side of half-time, and Yoane Wissa bundled home another, as the Bees held a three-goal advantage heading into the final 20 minutes. Yukinari Sugawara scored a late consolation for the visitors.
Thomas Frank made two changes to the side that lined up against Liverpool: Kevin Schade and Mikkel Damsgaard came in for Roerslev and Keane Lewis-Potter.
The game started brightly. Damsgaard nutmegged Flynn Downes inside the centre circle, sprayed the ball out to Mbeumo on the right and continued his run into the box.
Mbeumo found Damsgaard in space, but his touch was heavy and Deadline Day signing Aaron Ramsdale clawed away. The Bees maintained the pressure, with Kristoffer Ajer’s low cross booted out for a corner by Jan Bednarek.
At the other end, Kyle Walker-Peters latched on to Taylor Harwood-Bells’ through ball, peeled in from the right and tested Mark Flekken at his front post.
The resulting corner, which was whipped in by Sugawara, deflected off Joe Aribo’s back and struck the crossbar. Will Smallbone’s cross from the left was then headed towards goal by Ben Brereton Díaz, leaving Flekken with a comfortable save.
Kristoffer Ajer took Wissa’s pass in his stride and fizzed a low cross into the box. Harwood-Bells beat Schade to the ball and Wissa lifted over the on-rushing Ramsdale and away from goal.
Moments later, Wissa beat Brereton Díaz with a smart turn and saw his curling effort from 20 yards held by Ramsdale.
Wissa had two more chances in as many minutes as the game approached the half-hour mark. The first saw him redirect Mathias Jensen’s lofted free-kick narrowly wide, and the second was a speculative effort from the edge of the box that flew over the bar.
On 35 minutes, Vitaly Janelt, Wissa and Christian Nørgaard combined on the edge of the box and the latter’s first-time effort was blocked by Bednarek.
Jack Stephens then passed up a big chance for the Saints, turning Will Smallbone’s corner just over the bar.
Three minutes before the break, the industrious Damsgaard intercepted Walker-Peter’s sloppy pass and crossed low for Wissa, but Harwood-Bellis stepped across to make an important intervention.
It was a move that foreshadowed the opening goal. Seconds later, Damsgaard stole the ball from Stephens and fed Schade, whose low drive bounced back off the base of the post. Mbeumo made no mistake on the rebound, stroking first time into the bottom corner.
The Saints immediately went in search of an equaliser. Sugawara, collecting the ball on the edge of the box following a corner, curled straight into Flekken’s clutches.
In the second minute of stoppage time, Sugawara’s deflected cross from the right dropped kindly for Adam Armstrong inside the six-yard box, but the striker didn’t make clean contact with the ball and the chance went begging.
Seconds after the restart, Damsgaard found Jensen with a clever reverse ball and the midfielder dragged across the face of goal and wide.
After a spell of Saints possession, Sugawara’s low cross almost found half-time substitute Cameron Archer lurking at the back post.
The Bees broke straight up the other end. Mbeumo cut inside and crossed from the right and an airborne Schade headed straight at Ramsdale.
On 62 minutes, Brereton Díaz’s dipping shot from the edge of the box struck Mbeumo and bounced out for a corner.
Damsgaard and Nørgaard both had shots blocked as the Bees looked to extend their lead.
And Frank’s side weren’t to be denied a second goal. Southampton were again caught playing out from the back. Bednarek’s ball to Stephens was intercepted by Damsgaard, who immediately played a positive forward pass. Jensen calmly rolled into the path of Mbeumo, and the forward found the far corner with a cultured first-time finish.
Shortly after play resumed, substitute Tyler Dibling’s long-range effort was pushed away by Flekken.
Brentford then put the game beyond Southampton’s reach. Jensen’s long throw was flicked on by Nathan Collins and Wissa bundled in the Bees’ third goal at the back post.
Wissa had a shot blocked by Bednarek following a neat combination between Roerslev and Mbeumo on the right, and Collins’ header from another Jensen throw-in was well held by Ramsdale, as the Bees began to enjoy themselves.
Dibling tried again from distance, but the ball flashed wide of Flekken’s left post. Nørgaard, following another quick Brentford transition, shot over the bar and into the west stand having been teed up by Wissa.
Southampton scored a consolation in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Dibling lifted a pass into the box which Adam Lallana cushioned down and Sugawara, with the outside of his boot, sent the ball flying beyond Flekken and into the net via the inside of the post.
Brentford: Flekken; Ajer (Roerslev 39), Collins, Pinnock, Janelt (Lewis-Potter 75); Nørgaard, Jensen, Damsgaard (Carvalho 81); Mbeumo, Wissa, Schade (van den Berg 75)
Subs not used: Valdimarsson, Mee, Yarmoliuk, Konak, Trevitt
Southampton: Ramsdale; Harwood-Bellis (Dibling 56), Bednarek, Stephens; Sugawara, Smallbone (Fernandes HT), Downes, Aribo (Lallana 82), Walker-Peters; Armstrong (Archer HT), Brereton Díaz
Subs not used: McCarthy, Bree, Taylor, Ugochukwu, Amo-Ameyaw
Attendance: 16,955
Frank: Our high press was world class
Thomas Frank was full of praise for his side after the 3-1 victory over Southampton.
"The feeling after a win is always unbelievable," said the Bees boss. "It's a combination of relief and happiness.
"We performed well and played a good game. We clearly deserved to win. We need to celebrate our wins for 24 hours, because in the Premier League it is so difficult to win."
Frank added: "Our high press today was absolutely world class. We were so aggressive, so well organised and the players were so committed.
"We forced Southampton to make mistakes, and we capitalised twice. If I'm harsh, we should have created even more. Overall, I'm happy."
Damsgaard: Gameplan worked against Saints
Reaction: Damsgaard post-Southampton
Mikkel Damsgaard also highlighted Brentford's gameplan.
Two of the Bees' three goals were born out of Damsgaard interceptions high up the pitch, and the Dane revealed that this was an area of focus for the side heading into the game.
"We played a good game and created a lot of chances," he said.
"I tried to work hard and win some balls. We know they like to take some risks in their build-up play, so we knew there was an opportunity there.
"Today, we took those chances. The gameplan was good."