Sitting 11 points adrift of Premier League safety, Vincent Kompany’s Burnley welcomed Brentford to Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon. With the Bees winless since their 0-2 away victory against Wolves in mid-February, the Clarets would look to build momentum against an out-of-form side in the hopes of inspiring a great escape from relegation.
BUR: Muric; Taylor, Esteve, O’Shea, Assignon; Bruun Larsen, Berge, Cullen, Vitinho; Odobert, Fofana
BRE: Flekken; Collins, Ajer, Jørgensen; Reguilon, Janelt, Jensen, Onyeka, Roerslev; Wissa, Toney
Early drama was aplenty at Turf Moor, and with the likelihood of Burnley retaining their Premier League status slipping game-by-game, Vincent Kompany’s side would be relieved to play more than 80 minutes against a ten-man side.
Sergio Reguilon was dismissed after just eight minutes following a foul on Vitinho inside the penalty area, with the Tottenham loanee shown a straight red card. Jacob Bruun Larsen sweetened the moment further, converting from twelve yards to hand the Clarets an all-important lead.
Embed from Getty ImagesThere were chances for both sides before the break, and perhaps Brentford should have drawn level through a poor Dara O’Shea backpass – but stand-in keeper Arijanet Muric did well to clear the danger and prevent an embarrassing equaliser.
Shortly after the hour mark, David Datro Fofana made amends for his woeful first-half miss. The Ivorian forward had somehow failed to hit the target before the break, but he made no mistake this time around as he beat Mark Flekken with a composed finish.
But Brentford fought back late on, with Kristoffer Ajer slamming a late header home following a well-placed Shandon Baptiste cross from the right flank. The Bees thought they’d restored parity in stoppage time when another Baptiste cross hooked over Muric – but a foul on the ‘keeper in the buildup saw the goal swiftly chalked off.
Embed from Getty ImagesA hard-fought victory against a ten-man Brentford side sees Burnley move to within eight points of safety, with nine matches left to play before their fate is decided. Thomas Frank’s Bees linger a little closer to the relegation zone than he’d like, with just four points separating them from the drop.
The international break will now bring a halt to Premier League proceedings, giving Burnley plenty of time to prepare for their Stamford Bridge trip on March 30. Brentford host Manchester United on the same day, with that clash shown on Sky Sports at 20:00 GMT.
