Brentford breezed past Southampton with a comfortable 5-0 win in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, claiming their first away victory of the season in superb style.
Brentford got off to an electrifying start as Kevin Schade fired them ahead just six minutes in, and despite their early dominance continuing in the following period, the Bees were unable to sting again, allowing Southampton to gradually find their rhythm, though the half ended with the Saints yet to truly trouble their opposition's defence.
The visitors once again sprung out from the blocks and had multiple chances to put the game to bed, only for Sepp van den Berg to have a goal ruled out by VAR and Yoane Wissa to spurn a glorious opportunity, but they did eventually double their lead when Bryan Mbeumo emphatically fired into the roof of the net to move Brentford closer to their first away win of the campaign.
Just minutes later, Brentford's day improved further when Lesley Ugochukwu was penalised for pulling Van den Berg down in the penalty area, allowing Mbeumo to step up and curl the ball into the right corner from the spot, all but securing the visitors' first three points on the road this season.
While the three points were certainly secure, Brentford were not quite done with the scoring as they added a quick-fire double in stoppage time through goals from Keane Lewis-Potter and Wissa making it 5-0 on a sensational day for Thomas Frank's side.
The result means Brentford climb above Brighton & Hove Albion into 10th in the Premier League table, just two points behind Fulham, while Southampton remain adrift at the bottom of the standings with just six points, 10 away from safety.
SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT
Brentford and Frank can finally breathe a sigh of relief, they have won away for the first time this season with an emphatic 5-0 demolition of Southampton.
It was a tough first half for Brentford, who struggled to create many moments of real quality, but the second half was sensational, appearing to carve Southampton apart at their will as they scored four goals.
The victory was certainly much-needed for the Bees, who had failed to win any of their prior five games and are now set to face Manchester City and Liverpool in their next Premier League outings.
As for Southampton, they are in an extremely sorry state, they already look like their players have resigned to relegation just over halfway into the season.
They carry such little attacking threat and are one of the easiest sides to tear apart in defence, Ivan Juric's job looks harder and harder with each passing matchday.
SOUTHAMPTON VS. BRENTFORD HIGHLIGHTS
6th min: Southampton 0-1 Brentford (Kevin Schade)
© Imago
Brentford have an early lead, lovely finish from Schade!
Mikkel Damsgaard wins the ball deep inside Southampton's half, skips past a defender, and looks to slide a pass into Schade's path in behind the Saints' defence.
Schade races onto the pass, beats the onrushing Aaron Ramsdale, and pokes his effort past the keeper and into the far corner to give Brentford the lead.
62nd min: Southampton 0-2 Brentford (Bryan Mbeumo)
© Imago
Mbeumo hammers home Brentford's second!
Mbeumo steals the ball in the middle of the park and quickly feeds it through to Wissa, who looks to make his way into the box and stands up his marker.
Mbeumo continues his run around his strike partner, with Wissa returning a lovely reverse pass, and Mbeumo hammers into the roof of the net to double Brentford's lead.
69th min: Southampton 0-3 Brentford (Bryan Mbeumo)
Mbeumo with his second from the spot, that is surely game over now!
Mbeumo crosses into the box towards Van den Berg at the back post, where the defender is clumsily pulled over by Ugochukwu and the referee quickly points to the spot.
The striker nonchalantly steps up to the ball and perfectly places his penalty into the right corner, giving Ramsdale no chance despite the keeper diving the correct way.
92nd min: Southampton 0-4 Brentford (Keane Lewis-Potter)
Four for Brentford, Lewis-Potter gets his name on the scoresheet!
Edmond-Paris Maghome brilliantly drives through the middle of the park before feeding the ball wide to Mbeumo on the right, and the winger rapidly cuts inside and passes the ball to Lewis-Potter inside the box.
The left-back takes a touch and fires across goal with his left foot, his strike going past Ramsdale and perfectly finding the corner to make it 4-0.
94th min: Southampton 0-5 Brentford (Yoane Wissa)
Five for Brentford, Wissa has his goal!
Yukinari Sugawara looks to head the ball to his teammate, but a poor execution allows Wissa to steal the ball and race towards Southampton's goal.
Wissa makes his way inside the Southampton box, opens up his body and curls his strike into the far right corner, adding a fifth on a wonderful afternoon for the Bees.
MAN OF THE MATCH - BRYAN MBEUMO
© Imago
Multiple Brentford players could have been given the man of the match award today after such a comfortable performance and victory against Southampton, but Mbeumo was undoubtedly the star of the show.
Although he had a relatively quiet first half, the forward was exceptional in the second, scoring twice to secure Brentford's first away victory of the season while also orchestrating much of their attacking play, including an assist for the fourth goal of the game.
Unbelievably, it could have been an even better outcome for the forward, with Mbeumo also registering two big chances and five key passes in an astonishing performance.
SOUTHAMPTON VS. BRENTFORD MATCH STATS
Possession: Southampton 50%-50% Brentford
Shots: Southampton 8-20 Brentford
Shots on target: Southampton 1-11 Brentford
Corners: Southampton 2-2 Brentford
Fouls: Southampton 10-4 Brentford
BEST STATS
Bryan Mbeumo is the first Brentford player to score 2+ goals, assists a goal and create 5+ chances in a single PL game. pic.twitter.com/ZkL5AcTbDV
— StatMuse FC (@statmusefc) January 4, 2025
Brentford win away for the first time this PL season. pic.twitter.com/CBxOKqGgK4
— StatMuse FC (@statmusefc) January 4, 2025
WHAT NEXT?
Southampton will briefly turn their attention away from the Premier League as they host Swansea City in the FA Cup third round at St Mary's Stadium on Sunday, before returning to league action against Manchester United on Thursday night.
Meanwhile, Brentford are set for a return to their home ground, where they will face Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup before tackling challenging league fixtures against Manchester City and Liverpool in the following week.
Ellis Stevens
