Brentford vs Newcastle: The Bees were smashed by the Magpies, as Christian Eriksen returned to football 259 days after suffering a cardiac arrest on the field at EURO 2020.
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Christian Eriksen came on as a 52nd-minute substitute with the Bees two goals and a man down at the Brentford Community Stadium on Saturday. All four sides of west London stood and applauded the Danish international onto the field.
The defeat is, however, a hugely consequential one for 10-man Brentford, who now find themselves on the fringe of the relegation battle. Josh Dasilva was shown a straight red card for a dangerous tackle after 11 minutes, and Newcastle capitalized with goals from Joelinton and Joe Willock in the first half.
Brentford vs Newcastle final score, stats, results
Final score: Brentford 0, Newcastle 2
Goal scorers: Brentford (None), Newcastle (Joelinton 33′, Willock 44′)
Shots: Brentford 5, Newcastle 26
Shots on target: Brentford 1, Newcastle 11
Possession: Brentford 35%, Newcastle 65%
3 things we learned – Brentford vs Newcastle
1. Relegation a real worry for Brentford: The gap between Brentford, in 14th, and Burnley, in 18th, is currently three points, with the Bees having played a whopping three games more at this point (same for 16th-place Everton); Newcastle, who are now above them in the table, have two games in hand themselves; Leeds, just one point behind in 17th, have one in hand as well. August and September were full of fantastic memories, when the Bees took the Premier League by storm and picked up points in six of their first seven games (3W-3D-1L).
2. These are the games they need to be winning: Saturday’s defeat was Brentford’s seventh in eight games (0W-1D-7L) and ninth in their last 11 (1W-1D-9L). It also began a three-game run against Newcastle (home), Norwich City (away) and Burnley (home) — three sides in the bottom-four when the weekend began — where they could all but secure their Premier League future with a sharp turnaround. It might all come down to whether or not they can pick up three or four points from their next two games, because they won’t find many favorable fixtures the rest of the way.
3. Newcastle begin brighter future away from bottom: Now that relegation fears seem a distant memory, Newcastle fans can begin dreaming about a rapid climb up the Premier League table to be facilitated by the club’s new ownership. They’ll almost certainly sign three or four superstar talents in the summer, and the last three seasons will become a distant memory.
Man of the Match: Joelinton – The Brazilian’s re-invention as a shuttling, two-way battler provides just enough protection to the Newcastle defense and support for the Magpies’ attack, striking a balance that has evaded them throughout their struggles.
Brentford vs Newcastle highlights
Josh Dasilva red card leaves Brentford a man down for 80 minutes (video)
Joelinton heads home to give Newcastle the lead (goal video)
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