Earning the right to attack: A breakdown of Brentford’s biggest PL victory | OneFootball

Brentford ran riot at Kenilworth Road on Saturday to record their biggest win of the 2023/24 campaign, a thumping 5-1 win over Luton Town showing how relentless an attacking force the Bees can be when near full strength.

A first-half brace from Yoane Wissa was followed by further strikes from Ethan Pinnock, Keane Lewis-Potter and substitute Kevin Schade after the break, as Thomas Frank's side hit five away Premier League goals for the first time ever (their only other five-star PL success coming in a 5-2 home win over Leeds United in September 2022).

Even without the injured Ivan Toney, Brentford were irresistible going forward and fired in 21 shots in total against the Hatters, nine of them peppering the target, as they passed the 50-goal mark in the top flight this season.

Afterwards, head coach Frank spoke of his side earning the right to attack "by defending well" and his pride at inflicting a heavy defeat on a Luton side that has been very competitive on home soil this season: the Hatters edged out by just a single goal in all but one of their previous Premier League losses at Kenilworth Road this term.

"No team has done what we've done to them" said the Dane - and he wasn't wrong.

When the Bees last won by a four-goal margin in the top flight, against Manchester United in an emphatic 4-0 win Gtech Community Stadium at the beginning of last season, Wissa replaced Mbeumo in the second half. However, against Luton on Saturday, the two forwards started alongside one another and dovetailed with devastating effect.

Brentford's opening goal, in many ways, showed the west Londoners at their most incisive - Mbeumo picked the ball up from Kristoffer Ajer, played a perfectly weighted ball ahead of Wissa and the DR Congo forward curled home a fantastic shot from just outside the area.

Wissa has looked incredibly sharp of late and his second of the afternoon owed everything to his predatory instincts in the box. Mbeumo made inroads down the right, crossed and there was Wissa to scuff home from inside the six-yard box to score the type of goal that warms the cockles of every natural goalscorer's heart.

In the process, Wissa reached double figures for Premier League goals for the first time; remarkably all of his 10 top-flight goals this term stemming from open play (Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson the only other player to score 10+ goals all from live situations).

Playing off the right, Mbeumo was at the heart of Brentford's rapier-like attacks and the Cameroon international's assist for Wissa's opener coupled with his cross for Lewis Potter's strike in the second period saw him reach an impressive milestone.

Over the past two seasons, Mbeumo (17 goals and 13 assists) is now part of an exclusive group of 22 players to be involved in 30+ Premier League goals - Dominic Solanke the only other player to manage the feat while playing for a team outside of the current top 10.

Mbeumo was a whisker away from getting his name on the scoresheet, but his fantastic left footer thudded off the woodwork to bring up another remarkable statistic: the forward (10 occasions) now one of only two players to hit the frame of the goal 10+ times from the start of the 2021/22 season (Darwin Núñez, 11, the other unfortunate soul).

Excellent performances abounded for the Bees, but two players also require special mention for their fantastic displays on Saturday: Sergio Reguilón and Ethan Pinnock.

On loan from Tottenham Hotspur, Reguilón has proved a superb addition since joining the Bees in January and his outstanding form was underlined by a myriad of chart-topping statistics against the Hatters.

Reguilón ranked top, or joint top, across a raft of stat categories on Saturday including key passes (4), pass completion (88 per cent), touches (71), fouls drawn (3), interceptions (2), clearances (5) and crosses (7), in addition to serving up his third assist in three games with a lovely out-swinging corner for Pinnock's unstoppable headed goal.

After a spell out injured, Pinnock returned to the Bees' starting line-up against Luton and he topped a typically imposing display with the aforementioned header - the Bees' 10th goal from a set-piece this term.

Pinnock (100) is one of only seven players in the top flight (alongside O'Shea, McBurnie, Morris, van Dijk, Tarkowski and Calvert-Lewin) to win a century of aerials in the Premier League this season and his return improves Brentford in both boxes - although the former Dulwich Hamlet defender's 762-day streak without a booking ended when he was cautioned for a cheeky shirt pull on Tahith Chong.

Lewis-Potter and Mikel Damsgaard were among a cast of other top performers and, with Toney set to return, Brentford are unbeaten in five and in very good shape ahead of Saturday's trip to Everton.

The Bees go into that encounter against the Toffees with huge incentives, as a win would guarantee another season in the top flight and help banish the demons of a below-par 3-1 defeat in the reverse fixture.