Brentford

Adam Millington
BBC Sport journalist

Coaching on a matchday is a team affair for Thomas Frank. He has no qualms with stepping back to analyse the game and allowing the rest of his backroom team to deputise.

Frank constantly shifted back to the bench with his notepad in hand to speak to colleagues before stepping back to convey information to the players on the pitch.

He seemed to prefer the slightly higher vantage point from the bench. It also gave him the ability to intently watch replays of what was happening on the pitch, assess the game in real time and make any needed adjustments.

Enzo Maresca, however, was the polar opposite. He rarely retreated to the bench, instead spending the game pacing up and down - and often outside of - his dugout.

Maresca was regularly animated, shouting instructions towards his players and running backwards and forwards. Frank, meanwhile, was quiet and pensive in his technical area.

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Brentford and Nigeria midfielder Frank Onyeka, 27, will return to the club once his loan spell at Bundesliga side Augsburg ends this summer. (Florian Plettenberg, external)

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Ian Westbrook
Fan writer

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This is something I do not want to write, but is a changing of the guard starting to happen at Brentford?

That was one question to come out of Sunday's goalless draw with Chelsea, for which Ethan Pinnock was dropped to the bench instead of starting for probably the first ever time when he has been fit.

Pinnock has been absolutely crucial to the Bees' rise over the past six years and always quite rightly been first choice at centre-half.

He is hugely popular, has played more than 200 games for us in all competitions, scored a dozen goals and has been one of our most consistent players since arriving.

Pinnock's timing and reading of the game has always been immaculate and to have only five bookings and one red card in all that time is extraordinary for a centre-half.

However, sadly this season at times his powers have seemed to be waning a bit.

Mistakes are so rare that when Pinnock does make them, everybody notices. After a couple early in the season, he was twice outpaced by Beto against Everton in February and then twice gave the ball away in last week's defeat at Newcastle.

He was substituted late on in that match and then left out on Sunday, in favour of Sepp van den Berg, who took Pinnock's place when he was out injured at the turn of the year.

It could be that Pinnock is still not fully fit and that when he is, he will be as good as new.

But it could also be that Van den Berg, who formed a solid partnership with the now undroppable Nathan Collins in Pinnock's absence, may have moved above him in the pecking order.

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Bayer Leverkusen are interested in Brentford and Netherlands goalkeeper Mark Flekken, 31, with the Bees wanting about 15m euros (£12.8m). (Sky - in German), external

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We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Brentford and Chelsea.

Here are some of your comments:

Brentford fans

Nick: Really strong first half from Brentford but we didn't create very many really good chances. We struggled to cope with Chelsea's changes and looked tired with no real attacking options on the bench. Thomas Frank doesn't get too much wrong, but not having a substitute forward seemed like a mistake. Kevin Schade looked knackered and Yoane Wissa was starting to cramp. Flekken looked assured, claimed the ball really well and made some good saves.

Mitchell: We played well without creating masses of chances. We lacked positivity with Yehor Yarmoliuk on but Vitaly Janelt helped. We missed two gilt-edged chances at the end, but a draw is probably the right result.

Mel: Another day of missed chances against a top-six team. Our defence once again showed defiance and stability. On balance, we should have nicked the game but a point was well deserved against a top-class side. Hint for Frank's staff: Schade needs some mental strengthening, he is a great lad who oozes speed and talent but sadly lacks confidence in his own ability. Well done Bees and great to hear our full-backs are nearing match readiness.

Chelsea fans

Ann: Rubbish again, Chelsea. What is the manager doing? He will lose his place by not putting his best players on. You need to do better.

Keith: We didn't lose is about all I can say about this game. There were some good performances but it is another two points dropped that were much needed.

Derek: Same old, same old. Enzo Maresca just serving up one course of football, and not offering any changes if something from the menu isn't working. He's been found out, he's out of his depth, and needs to be moved on for the club to hit the targets we are aiming for. My worry is that the owners aren't actually bothered about winning trophies - they're just in it to improve the club as a brand and make themselves richer.

Highlights and analysis from Sunday's four Premier League fixtures, plus the best of the action from the rest of the weekend.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

And you can watch Saturday's Match of the Day here.

Listen back to the weekend's full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Crystal Palace 2-1 Brighton

• Aston Villa 2-1 Nottingham Forest

• Fulham 3-2 Liverpool

• Man Utd 0-0 Man City

Jonty Colman
BBC Sport journalist

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While Chelsea had 21 shots to Brentford's nine in the goalless draw between the two sides, the Bees had the better chances and based off them, should have taken three points.

In the first half, Mikkel Damgaard was through on goal six yards out, but completely missed the ball when he only had Blues goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to beat.

Keane Lewis-Potter's header from a corner also Sanchez into a good diving stop and while Chelsea's second half substitutions led to them controlling the flow of the second half, it was the Bees who had three golden chances in a five-minute flurry late on.

Bryan Mbuemo exchanged a one-two with Yoane Wissa before his effort on goal was denied by Sanchez.

From the resulting corner, Sepp van den Berg, who almost turned into his own net earlier in the half, headed over from close range before Wissa himself steered wide with a header of his own.

Between the two sides, Opta said an expected goals (xG) total of 2.54 had been generated between both teams, the third highest in a Premier League game this season which has ended 0-0.

Had either of Damsgaard, Mbuemo, Wissa, Van den Berg or Lewis-Potter taken their chances, the Bees would have ended their eight-game wait for a home victory in the league and boosted their slim hopes of qualifying for European football for the first time in their history.

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Brentford head coach Thomas Frank has been speaking to Match of the Day about the result: "I felt that we played a good game, a very good game. I think the performance was good. The first half was a very good performance, I think we were clearly on top in the first half. In that spell, we should have taken our chances. In the second half, more even. In all of the game, we defended very well."

On keeping a first clean sheet at home in the Premier League for 11 months: "That is crazy. That is a positive, I guess."

On the performance: "The performance overall was very good. We were playing against a top team with a good manager. They are well-coached, they have spent billions on players. I think the way we played and performed today, we had the better chances to win the game."

On being a consistent Premier League club: "Our culture is fantastic. I think it's good people working together, working for each other, and caring about each other. To be able to take calm, solid and good decisions is an unbelievably important thing, especially from owners and directors."

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Brentford remain without a win in eight home Premier League games (D3 L5), extending what is their longest ever such run in the competition.

The Bees have won just one of their past seven Premier League London derbies at home (D4 L3), which was a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace in August this season.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Brentford's performance

What did you make of Chelsea's display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Four matches make up Sunday's Premier League action and BBC Sport will bring you every kick.

• Brentford v Chelsea - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Fulham v Liverpool - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Tottenham v Southampton

• Man Utd v Man City (16:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 live

All kick-off times 14:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

Chelsea's issue has been consistency - they played well to beat Tottenham on Thursday but can they back it up here? I am not sure.

Brentford are another team I have struggled to get right this season, but I'd always back them to score.

I have feeling this is going to be an open game with a few goals. A win would be big for Chelsea in their push for a top-five finish, but I don't think they will get it.

Sutton's prediction: 2-2

Read the full predictions and have your say here

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Brentford are without a win in their past four home league games against Chelsea, meaning they have not beaten the Blues on their own ground since October 1938.

Chelsea have lost each of their past four Premier League away matches. They have not lost five in a row on the road since a run of five between October and December 2000.

Brentford have gone seven Premier League games without a win at Gtech Community Stadium, which is their worst run in the league since going nine without a win between September and December 2006.

Bryan Mbeumo has been involved in six goals in his past five Premier League games against Chelsea (three goals, three assists).

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League home game against Chelsea (kick-off 14:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• "Everyone from the Newcastle game is fine" and fit to play against Chelsea.

• Rico Henry has a "chance to feature" against Chelsea and is "very keen to be involved" as he has missed playing.

• Meanwhile, Frank confirmed Mikkel Damsgaard "will start on Sunday".

• The Dane said the club "will look at contracts in summer" for Ben Mee and Josh Dasilva, whose deals are both due to expire in June.

• On not having a home win since December, Frank said that a "perfect performance on the pitch and in the stands is what we want".

• Frank said defender Nathan Collins "has really improved this season", adding: "That's down to him and I praise him for that. He has real focus during the game."

• Brentford "have highlighted a couple of areas that we can create" chances against Chelsea.

• Frank described Blues defender Marc Cucurella is "one of the best left backs in the league".

Listen to BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra commentary of Brentford v Chelsea at 14:00 on Sunday

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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We asked for your views on Newcastle's win over Brentford on Wednesday.

Here are some of your comments:

Newcastle fans

Matt: Did Sandro Tonali really mean that strike? The late movement of his foot suggests he did - but that's my heart ruling my head, maybe! On track for Europe again and perhaps a big win against Manchester United.

Paul: Great win but we made hard work of it with either sloppy finishing or great last-ditch defending by Brentford. Alexander Isak wasn't at his best, taking time to pull the trigger but we could have easily been three goals up at half-time.

Duncan: Any signs of a hangover from the cup success were soon dispelled. A good start from the whistle, with lots of pressure on the Brentford 18-yard box. A good all-round performance marred by Nick Pope's poor decision-making again. Tonali finished it with a wonder strike to secure the points and continue the push for Champions League football next season. Did he mean it? Absolutely! He has been going for long-range efforts like that all season. Our strongest player all season.

Robbo: Difficult game and could have easily been a draw. Pleased with a win after such a historic few weeks. Good luck to the Bees for the rest of the season. Thought Kieran Trippier and Tino Livramento were brilliant. Did Tonali mean to score? Of course he did.

Brentford fans

Brahams: Very unlucky not to get a point and on another day all three! A strong performance full of ion. While Mikkel Damsgaard is a super sub to have, I just think we are missing (through injuries etc) a few game-changing players that we have in our squad. But that's not to take away anything from the performance away at a strong team who were on a high from their trophy win. I think the sky is the limit when Brentford have the full force of their squad playing week in week out.

Tom: We played well. It was a game that should get attention for another referee and VAR mistake though, as a stonewall penalty against Damsgaard, after which a free kick was given for a "foul" by Keane Lewis-Potter on Tonali and a yellow card, from which Newcastle went and Tonali scored the freak goal. This has happened time and again in recent matches for us. We're not the kind of club to moan about it and we have the classiest manager in the Premier League, but he needs to start now as it is getting ridiculous.

• a different club? Find and follow your team here

Highlights and analysis from nine midweek Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Arsenal 2-1 Fulham

• Nottingham Forest 1-0 Man Utd

• Liverpool 1-0 Everton

• Newcastle 2-1 Brentford

Image source, Getty Images

Brentford boss Thomas Frank, speaking to Sky Sports: "Proud of the performance, happy with the players' performance and I think, besides the first moment and the last minute, I felt we kept them quiet first half.

"Ethan [Pinnock] went close to scoring and, unfortunately, [Sandro] Tonali scores from a cross. That is one-in-a-million and then in the end we had good chances. We performed well and then the fine margins didn't go our way.

"Even game, could have gone either way but unfortunately we didn't.

"The last one I don't think it was a penalty but the first one I think it was."

On Bryan Mbeumo scoring again: "First with Ivan [Toney] I said we had the best penalty taker in the world and with Bryan, if not the best, we have the second best.

"If we keep performing like this, I think we will be in a good position at the end of the season. Hopefully we get five straight home wins now."