Brentford vs Crystal Palace. Premier League.
Gtech Community StadiumAttendance16,988.
Report and free match highlights as goals from Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo give Brentford a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace, who see Eberechi Eze's opener controversially ruled out; Ivan Toney misses out after Thomas Frank confirms "transfer interest" in striker
Sunday 18 August 2024 18:50, UK
Yoane Wissa earned Brentford a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace after Eberechi Eze's opener was controversially ruled out following a "nightmare" refereeing call.
England winger Eze thought he had opened the scoring when his quick-thinking free-kick caught out Mark Flekken at his near post, but referee Sam Barrott had already blown for a foul by Will Hughes before it crossed the line.
The timing of his decision meant VAR was unable to intervene, while Palace had further cause for frustration when replays showed Hughes had more of a case of being fouled himself.
"The referee has had a nightmare, it is a monumental mistake," said Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp at half-time.
Fuelled by that let-off and having been dominated to that point, Brentford took the lead four minutes later when Bryan Mbeumo cut in from the right and curled an excellent finish past Dean Henderson.
They could have doubled their advantage within moments when Kevin Schade flashed a shot just wide, before Palace regained control and finally levelled 11 minutes into the second period.
A deep cross from Tyrick Mitchell picked out Daniel Munoz at the far post and the wing-back's nod down caught out Ethan Pinnock, who could not organise his feet in time to avoid diverting the ball into his own net.
Palace's hopes of completing the turnaround were put on ice when Odsonne Edouard slotted home a second only to be denied by a narrow offside flag.
Instead, Brentford's improved second-half performance was rewarded when Wissa poked home from close range after Henderson could only parry Nathan Collins' shot into his path.
That earned the Bees a first win over their London rivals in eight attempts, and went some way to easing concerns raised by Thomas Frank's revelation that Ivan Toney had been left out of the squad due to "transfer interest".
Speaking on Super Sunday, Redknapp said 31-year-old referee Barrott had been rash to disallow Eze's goal before it had crossed the line, when a VAR intervention would have been able to advise on whether to overturn his decision.
He said: "Just let it breathe, the ref was a too busy and excited to get involved and in the Premier League, you have to expect the unexpected, but it was an amazing piece of play from Eze, who deserved a goal.
"Just let it breathe, do not be rash with your decisions as it was not even that much of a foul to worry about, it was a brilliant piece of play from Eze, who is so unfortunate.
"But the referee will learn from it and will not get too involved next time and to stay out of it, but you feel for Palace as that first 20 minutes, they were absolutely brilliant."
Sky Sports' Ron Walker at the Gtech Community Stadium:
"No side lost more points from winning positions than Brentford last season. This was a different Brentford.
"Weathering the storm of Palace's early onslaught, bouncing back after Ethan Pinnock's own-goal equaliser and grinding out a late winner is the Brentford that won so many hearts in their first two seasons in the Premier League.
"A lucky call courtesy of whistle-happy Sam Barrott didn't hurt but Mark Flekken's smart goalkeeping and the consistency of the back four, barring Pinnock's moment to forget, won them the game as much as Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa.
"Good teams stick in games when things are going against them, and Brentford didn't do that enough last season. Doing that against such a fancied Palace side suggests things might be better this time around."
Sky Sports' Richard Morgan:
"Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner was remarkably sanguine about Eberechi Eze's controversial disallowed free-kick in his side's 2-1 loss at Brentford, preferring instead to focus on his own side's deficiencies at the Gtech.
"'We have to be very critical of ourselves,' the German told Sky Sports following the match after watching Palace lose in the Premier League for the first time in eight games, a run stretching back to their 4-2 home defeat to Man City in April.
"'We concede too many goals and in transition we need to find a better balance as we struggled a little bit with their speed in offence, so this we need to analyse and make better in the next games.'
"However, having lost star forward Michael Olise to Bayern Munich in the summer and having to fight off recent attempts from Newcastle United to prise influential England centre-back Marc Guehi away from Selhurst Park, the Eagles can perhaps be forgiven for as Glasner said, not being 'in the rhythm we want to be' as shown by the half-time substitution of top scorer from last season, Jean-Philippe Mateta.
"And yet in the end, the visitors were more than a little unfortunate not to leave west London with at least a share of the spoils, especially given the fortuitous nature of Brentford's winner, plus some other close calls that did not go their way.
"Glasner, though, will be desperate for the summer transfer window to now close so he can keep hold of Guehi and Eze, his key England international duo at both ends of the team - do that and Palace can look forward to another promising season."
