Pre Season: Brentford draw with Benfica
Benfica 1 - 1 Brentford
Bryan Mbeumo was on target as Brentford drew with Benfica.
Mbeumo capitalised on a sloppy back-pass to give Thomas Frank's side an early lead in Lisbon, but the Eagles levelled on 24 minutes when Vangelis Pavlidis poked home Álvaro Carreras’s cross at the front post.
Kevin Schade led the line for Brentford with Igor Thiago sidelined by a meniscus injury. The hosts looked to get off to a flying start on the pitch and fashioned the first chance of note in the fifth minute.
Brentford took the lead four minutes later. Schade’s ball up the left channel was intercepted by Morato and the defender’s back-pass to goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin was under-hit, which allowed the alert Mbeumo to steal in and finish first time into the bottom corner.
Benfica levelled midway through the first half. Aursnes played a short pass into the overlapping Carreras down the left, who took the ball in his stride, advanced to the byline and delivered a low, fizzing cross to the front post. Pavlidis made no mistake in poking beyond Hákon Valdimarsson from close range.
That ultimately ended up being the last of the goalscoring action. The Brentford manager will be pleased with some aspects of his side's performance. This was a decent opportunity to test themselves against a team that finished 2nd in the Primeira Liga.
After the match, Head coach Thomas Frank seemed to be pleased with his side's performance. He also seemed delighted that he was allowed to manage his side against a side with a fantastic history.
Brentford: 23/24 Season Review (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com)
Best reaction
💬 "It is about us sticking to our principles and our gameplan, and I think we did that well"@EthanPinnock5's post-match thoughts with @PensionBee #SLBBRE pic.twitter.com/oQzhyUJNiz
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) July 25, 2024
Ryan, a Brentford fan, made the trip to Portugal to watch the match. He said: "That was another good test against a good opponent. It was a huge step up from the match against AFC Wimbledon. I am very confident about the new season, especially if we keep hold of Toney and other key players."
Premier League: Summer 2024 news and stories (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com)
