Three Things we Learned from Brentford's Win Over Frankfurt

On Saturday afternoon, Brentford pulled off a resounding 7-0 win over German outfit Eintracht Frankfurt to round off their pre-season in style, and to get fans incredibly excited for the forthcoming season.    

So, what did we learn from this empathic performance and result? 

1) Kevin Schade is up for it 

We mentioned not too long ago that Schade was one of the Brentford players with a point to prove this season, considering some of the criticism from the fanbase last season, and the addition of Jaidon Anthony on the left wing. 

Well, if today is anything to go by, he certainly wants to prove a point. The German forward scored two goals and provided a further two assists, and showed a great intensity out of possession - which lead to one of his assists - showing that he is really eager to go and show what he can do this season. 

Although fans are, rightly so, excited by the signing of Anthony, it would feel very harsh on Schade if he isn't named in the starting XI against Spurs this time next week. 

2) Brentford have some serious depth 

The starting XI that Keith Andrews opted for today was really good, full of quality. But it was not just the line up that was impressive. Look at some of the names coming off the bench - Callum Wilson, Anthony, Mikkel Damsgaard in attacking areas. Yehor Yarmoliuk a bit further back. Rico Henry, Ethan Pinnock and Aaron Hickey at the back. 

Strong depth in all areas of the pitch. That was without Fabio Carvalho either, and (everything crossed), Josh Dasilva to come back as well. This should really bode well for the campaign. 

Last season, Brentford ran out of steam down the final stretch. The lack of form towards the end of the season cost the team a European spot. Now, with this added depth, there is a bigger chance of ending strong - especially when you consider that the likes of Sunderland, AFC Bournemouth, Brighton and Hove Albion etc have European commitments. 

3) Brentford's defence looks very good

In our preview of the game, we touched on how Frankfurt had only conceded two goals in their five pre-season games, making the seven goals scored very impressive. But we also mentioned how they had also scored 18 goals too. 

Yet, Brentford barely gave them a sniff with their relentless performance. The visitors took 28 minutes to register a shot of any note. Although they would eventually rack up 13 attempts, there were zero opta defined big chances, very few scares, if any at all for the Bees. 

Aside from his assist, Collins was very solid at the back, winning 4/5 of his duels, including all three aerial duels. He is another player who looks very much up for the season. All of the back four played very well in truth.