Brentford secured a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace in their Premier League opener on Sunday, despite the absence of Ivan Toney. Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa scored for Brentford, who opted to leave out Toney due to ongoing speculation about his future.
Toney, whose contract with Brentford has less than a year remaining, is reportedly drawing interest from Saudi clubs following his contribution to England's run to the Euro 2024 final. Brentford manager Thomas Frank noted before the match that the team had proven their ability to cope without Toney, who missed a significant portion of last season due to a betting ban.
Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi, despite interest from Newcastle, captained the team and had a notable role in Brentford’s first goal. Mbeumo capitalized on a pass from Wissa, maneuvered around Guehi, and scored into the far corner.
Palace, who ended last season strongly under manager Oliver Glasner, were left feeling aggrieved after Eberechi Eze's near-post free-kick was controversially ruled out for a foul by Will Hughes when the match was still 0-0.
In the second half, Palace initially took the lead when Ethan Pinnock inadvertently scored an own goal from a Daniel Munoz header. Odsonne Edouard then appeared to double Palace’s advantage with a goal from Eze’s pass, but it was disallowed for offside.
Brentford responded by securing the match-winning goal. Dean Henderson’s save from Nathan Collins’ shot fell to Wissa, who scored the decisive goal. Despite Eze’s late efforts being thwarted by Brentford’s Mark Flekken, Brentford held on to claim the three points.
