Brentford News
The past seven days have seen Dean Smith’s side make EFL Cup progress while still waiting for that first Sky Bet Championship point of the season.
There was a first-ever competitive trip to Kingsmeadow on Tuesday to face AFC Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup Round One with The Bees needing Extra-Time to get the better of their League One opponents. Paul Robinson hooked the hosts into a first-half lead but Romaine Sawyers levelled late on with a sweet strike from the edge of the box. Ollie Watkins’ first Bees goal and a first professional goal for Justin Shaibu in those added 30 minutes ensured progress to Round Two where, after no small amount of confusion, a trip to QPR was The Bees' reward.
Saturday saw Championship football return to Griffin Park after a three-month absence but it wasn’t Brentford fans celebrating at full-time as Nottingham Forest took the points by an odd goal in seven. Andreas Bouchalakis and Daryl Murphy gave Mark Warburton’s side a half-time lead, despite John Egan’s header for The Bees, and Bouchalakis made it 3-1 just after the break with a fine long-range effort. Andreas Bjelland created history as his goal became the first at Griffin Park to be awarded with the aid of Goal-line Technology to make it 3-2 but again Forest struck, this time through Kieran Dowell. Neal Maupay’s first Bees goal, in injury-time, raised hopes of a dramatic finale but the visitors held on to take the points.
Brentford B made it seven wins from seven this season with a 4-3 victory over Everton. Theo Archibald, Marcus Forss, Zain Westbrooke, and Herson Alves were all on target in the rain at Finch Farm as Kevin O’Connor’s side kept up their perfect start. One player not involved last week was Reece Cole as he joined Sky Bet League Two side Newport County on loan until January.
Sky Bet Championship news
Forest’s win on Saturday left them as one of four sides with a 100 per cent record thus far. The early Championship leaders are Cardiff City after their impressive 3-0 win at home to Aston Villa with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Ipswich Town the other two sides only to have tasted victory this campaign, after their weekend success at Derby County and Ipswich Town respectively.
Simon Grayson’s Sunderland climbed into the Play-Off places on Sunday with a 3-1 defeat of Norwich City, joining Hull City inside the top six after The Tigers' 4-1 demolition of Burton Albion 24 hours earlier. There were also wins this weekend for Birmingham City and Middlesbrough while Leeds United, Millwall, Reading, and Sheffield Wednesday drew at home to Preston North End, Bolton Wanderers, Fulham, and QPR respectively.
Football news
Huddersfield Town enjoyed a dream Premier League debut as their 3-0 win at Crystal Palace put them top of the table for 24 hours before Manchester United’s impressive 4-0 victory over West Ham United yesterday. There was a shock at Stamford Bridge as Gary Cahill’s early red card set Burnley on their way to a 3-2 win at the Champions, equalling their entire away win tally for last season while Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion, and Everton, courtesy of a Wayne Rooney goal, 13 years after his last for The Tofees, all picked up three points on the opening weekend.
In Spain, Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench against Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup to score and then get sent off, all in the space of 22 minutes last night, as Real take a 3-1 lead into Wednesday’s Second-Leg at the Bernabeu. All the action came after the break with Lionel Messi cancelling out a Gerard Pique own-goal before Ronaldo, and then Marco Asensio, netted at the Camp Nou.
The major transfer business of the past week involved former Bee Andre Gray who completed an £18.5 million move from Burnley to Watford while Southampton parted with £15 million for Juventus’ Mario Lemina.