Brentford F.C. opened their season this past weekend at Gtech Community Stadium against Crystal Palace F.C. The team scored all three goals in their 2-1 win. In the opener, Brentford left out one key player, who has been suspect to many rumors. The team has been very active in the transfer window and so has one of their star players.
Brentford Wins Controversial Home Opener
Thomas Frank’s squad snuck away with a gritty win in the opener. The match had questions surrounding it, even after it ended. Going into the game the team answered questions about the rumors surrounding the club’s star player, Ivan Toney. The striker has attracted interest from many clubs across soccer, and fans are worried about his departure. However, currently, the decision is still pending.
Within the game, questions were raised about officiating. In the 26th minute, Crystal Palace was rewarded with a free kick from about 36 yards (33 meters) out. The team chose midfielder Eberechi Eze to take the kick. Eze struck the ball beautifully, going short side and off the post on Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken. The excitement of the goal, however, was immediately shattered.
Right before the ball crossed the line, the head referee blew the whistle pointing out an infringement from Palace midfielder, Will Hughes. Palace fans and players stood in confusion. Ultimately, the rule states that since he blew the whistle before the ball crossed the line, VAR could not be used to validate the goal.
Brentford Scores Every Goal
After the goal that would have opened the scoring from Palace was disallowed, Brentford took things from there. In the 29th minute, Bryan Mbeumo scored a goal that counted. After that, Ethan Pinnock equalized the game with an own goal in the 57th minute. The goal resulted from a poor attempt to deflect the ball away from the goal. Then lastly in the 76th minute, Yoane Wissa scored the final goal that led to the 2-1 result.
While the team scored all three of the goals that counted, they did not possess control of the game. Throughout the match, both sides were evenly contested. However, Crystal Palace did edge Brentford in possession by 54% to 46%. One disparity that did stand out was the number of fouls and cards. Brentford finished the match with only six fouls and one yellow card. On the other hand, Palace had 15 fouls and a whopping five yellow cards.
In Brentford’s win in the season opener, the team played a well-rounded game but the questions about Ivan Toney still prevailed.
Ivan Toney’s Situation
Ivan Toney was held from Brentford’s lineup in their opener. The team says this is due to speculations about him transferring. The star striker has been a key part of the teams’ success at times and could be on the move. Currently, the team that has expressed the most interest in him is the Saudi Arabian team Al Ahli. There still is some distance between the two teams in terms of price discussions, however, the two teams will have until 11 PM UK time on August 30 to finalize a deal.
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