Brentford made a statement at home on Friday, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 7-0 in a Club Friendlies fixture. The scoreline told only half the story of a match where the hosts dominated from the opening whistle. Frankfurt's visitors from the Bundesliga arrived looking to test themselves against a side that had been building momentum through pre-season.
And here's the thing — the goals started almost immediately. K. Schade opened the scoring after just two minutes, and M. Sangare doubled the lead by the twelfth. I. Thiago added a third before the break, putting Brentford in control before the interval. Frankfurt had barely recovered their shape when they went in behind.
The second half continued in the same vein. D. Ouattara made it four at the fifty-second mark, and K. Lewis-Potter followed with a fifth just before the hour. Thiago struck again at sixty-eight, and Schade completed his brace seven minutes later. By then, Frankfurt had long since stopped trying to play their game.
Substitutions came thick and fast as the game opened up. Frankfurt brought on R. Koch, Otavio and R. Doan at half-time, while Brentford made three changes around the sixty-third minute. Both sides then emptied their benches in the seventy-first, with Brentford bringing on I. Thiago, K. Schade and K. Ajer among others. Lewis-Potter was the last to be replaced at seventy-nine.
The statistics told the same story. Brentford had 52 per cent possession and created four big chances, while Frankfurt managed none. The hosts registered nine shots on target against five for their visitors, and their expected goals figure of 3.66 sat comfortably alongside the seven they scored. Frankfurt's xG of 0.46 suggested they had created little of note.
This was a friendly, but the result carried weight. Brentford had lost 3-0 to Manchester City in their last competitive outing and drawn with Liverpool and Crystal Palace since. They were showing they could finish games properly. Frankfurt's recent form included a 5-1 win over Frankfurt — themselves — and seven goals against Giesen, but this was a different animal entirely.