Ivan Toney underlined his England credentials with two goals as Brentford returned to winning ways against Brighton in the Premier League.
Although Brighton have had a number of excellent results on their travels this season, they have struggled for fluidity and consistency against high-energy opposition led by Toney on his 100th appearance for the Bees.
The hosts had already seen Brian Mbiomu’s improvised volley cannon over the visitors’ crossbar when Toney opened the scoring with a superb backheel flick from Frank Onyeka on the right.
With Brighton looking for an equalizer after the break, Toney then doubled his advantage, rising to convert his eighth consecutive top-flight penalty by going down from behind after a crude challenge from Joel Veltman.
The result left Thomas Frank’s side eighth in the table, one place and one point behind the Seagulls, who have yet to win under new manager Roberto Di Zerbi.
Toney was called up to the England squad for the Nations League fixtures against Italy and Germany in September but was not used by Gareth Southgate.
However, on current form he is making a strong case for a move to Qatar for the upcoming World Cup, with only Manchester City’s Erling Holland (15) now scoring more Premier League goals than the Bays centre-forward, with eight.
Brentford Bounce Back
With heavy defeats against Arsenal and Newcastle either side of a goalless draw at Bournemouth, Brentford responded well in front of their enthusiastic home support.
De Zerbe and Frank were both booked for altercations in the technical area and on the pitch Brentford reflected their manager’s aggression.
Toney, Mbiomo and Une Wesa set the tone early on, with the Brighton defense and goalkeeper Robert Sanchez making a number of mistakes when trying to play in from the back.
The start at this stage was also notable for the sustained and warm tribute from Brighton’s traveling fans to midfielder Enoch Mwepo, who retired this week aged 24 due to an inherited heart condition. It had to be.
While Brighton had chances to go ahead with a Danny Welbeck header and particularly Veltman’s close-range shot from a corner, there was also an absence of the spark that saw them score three at Anfield earlier this month. I saw it happen.
To illustrate the point, the Seagulls had more than 70 percent possession and registered 21 shots by the full-time whistle, but apart from Adam Lallana’s late header, rarely looked like it. Any progress.
“You have to score to win the game,” De Zerby said. “We don’t get goals. We lose a lot of second balls, a lot of duels. We make mistakes about shooting, about the last pass, about crosses. But that’s the right way for us.
“We have to do more. We have to improve, learn, understand.”
Brentford and Toney made the most of their chances, scoring twice from just three attempts on target. Mads Roerslev could have added more sparkle to a fine victory but saw his effort cleared off the line when Sanchez failed to claim a cross.
