Brentford keep the 'European tour' vibes going, but Foxes are good value for point at the Gtech
Brentford (1) 1 Jensen 32
Leicester City (0) 1 Barnes 52
The Bees missed the chance to go into the international break in sixth place as they allowed Leicester to cancel out a first-half goal from Mathias Jensen.
The draw the Foxes gained – precious for them as they struggle near the foot of the table – was well deserved. After Harvey Barnes had made it 1-1, they had the better of the second half and the Bees ended the game with 10 men after a second yellow card for Shandon Baptiste.
By this time next week. Ivan Toney may have collected his first England cap – and there is no surer sign that the Bees are truly taking to the big time now.
They suffered their first defeat in the league since October when they lost 1-0 at Everton last week – ending a run of 12 unbeaten games - but their instant response with a win at Southampton in midweek has renewed belief that the European adventure they crave is still very much on the agenda.
They will be disappointed to have turned in such a lacklustre second half display, but there is no reason to downsize their lofty ambitions to quality for Europe. Arsenal remain the only team to have won at the Gtech this season in the Premier League.
This was another afternoon which threatened to be a routine one for Thomas Frank’s men. They had a couple of narrow escapes early on, with Barnes curling just wide from the left edge of the area and Patson Daka hitting the side-netting with a near-post header. But then they seized the initiative.
Bryan Mbeumo had already flashed a dipping shot just over when he volleyed a Rico Henry chip back across goal and a half-clearance ran out to Jensen, whose left footer found the bottom corner with the aid of a deflection off Ricardo Pereira.
Yet the game turned out to be anything but routine - and for once, Toney was not at the centre of the narrative.
The Foxes hit back soon after the restart when James Maddison prodded a ball between Ethan Pinnock and Ben Mee with just the right weight for Barnes to put away with a dinked finish past David Raya.
The Bees played out the final minutes of injury time with 10 men after Baptiste landed into the always-impressive Maddison to stop a breakaway and then planted careless studs into Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. He could have no complaints.
Bees: (4-3-3) Raya – Hickey, Pinnock, Mee, Henry – Damsgaard (Dasilva 61), Norgaard, Jensen (Baptiste 74) – Mbeumo (Jansson 90), Toney, Wissa (Schade 61). Subs not used: Strakosha, Zanka, Ghoddos, Onyeka, Stevens
Foxes: (4-2-3-1) Iversen – Pereira, Amartey, Souttar, Castagne – Ndidi (Soumare 74), Dewsbury-Hall – Tete (Praet 66), Maddison (Iheanacho 90), Barnes – Daka (Vardy 66). Subs not used: Ward, Mendy, Thomas, Brunt, Marcal-Madivadua
Attendance: 17,006
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