Analysis: Schade steals the show as Brentford beat Leicester to extend remarkable home run | OneFootball

Brentford's incredible unbeaten home form rumbles on after a convincing 4-1 win over Leicester City on Saturday, and Playmaker is spoilt for choice when it comes to outstanding stats on the Bees' exploits at Gtech Community Stadium this season.

We certainly won't put hat-trick hero Kevin Schade in the shade, but before we delve into the numbers behind the German forward's first Premier League treble, we'll highlight the headline stat relating to Brentford's outstanding home form.

Ready? Across UEFA’s top five leagues so far this season, the Bees have outscored EVERY other team on the continent: Thomas Frank's side hammering home 22 goals on their own turf to outstrip even European giants such as PSG (21), Real Madrid (20), Barcelona (19) and Borussia Dortmund (19).

With five more home goals than any of their Premier League rivals this term, the Bees have been simply sensational on their own patch and Schade was the star of the show last weekend.

Trailing to Facundo Buonanotte's 21st-minute opener for the Foxes, Schade's first telling contribution of the afternoon came with a slide rule assist for Yoane Wissa to equalise just four minutes later and shortly afterwards the 23-year-old turned home a tidy right-foot finish from Bryan Mbeumo's (slightly deflected) cutback to give the Bees the lead.

Schade's glorious dink over Leicester keeper Mads Hermansen put the hosts firmly in the driving seat at the break, and the livewire forward sealed his hat-trick just shy of the hour mark courtesy of a composed strike from Nathan Collins' inch-perfect pass.

It was a perfect afternoon for the former Freiburg wideman, who was limited to just four starts for Brentford during an injury-plagued 2023/24 campaign.

The match-ball safely in his grasp at the final whistle, Schade showcased his talent with a clinical display and his hat-trick served to underline just how explosive Brentford’s attacking firepower is right now - especially with Igor Thiago again featuring off the bench for the Bees.

As speedy hat-tricks go, Schade's was fairly rapid - his 38-minute treble only bettered by Chelsea's Noni Madueke (14 mins) and Cole Palmer (10 mins, as part of a four-goal haul) this season in the Premier League.

Further, Schade's electric performance saw him join Palmer as one of only two players to rack up four goal involvements in a single Premier League game in 2024/25; although Chelsea's playmaker has impressively managed the feat twice.

Perhaps Schade's most unexpected statistic from the Leicester win was that he ranked joint-second for aerial duels won, with 4, only Brentford rock Collins (6) more dominant in the air.

What should come as far less of a surprise, given the Bees' current status as the top flight's sharpest shooters, was that Schade hit the target with four of his five shots.

Six of Brentford's 13 efforts on goal last weekend hit the target to exactly mirror the Bees' 46 per cent shot-on-target percentage across the entire season to date and Frank's side lead the entire division in this stat category at the moment.

Although Schade undoubtedly earned top billing, midfield schemer Mikkel Damsgaard deserves a quick mention.

It was the Danish midfielder's fantastic pass that released Schade in the build-up to Wissa's crucial equaliser, and Damsgaard once again pulled the strings for Brentford at the weekend.

A perfectly weighted pass for Schade's second goal just before the break was Damsgaard's fifth Premier League assist, and only Bukayo Saka (10), Mohamed Salah (7) and the aforementioned Palmer (6) have laid on more top-flight goals this season.

Damsgaard's ability to split open defences is a key weapon in Brentford's armoury, and - impressively - the 24-year-old has played more accurate through balls (10) than any player in the Premier League in 2024/25.

Brentford's formidable attacking options should give them every confidence ahead of an exciting run of fixtures.

Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Chelsea lie in store in the next three league games - prior to the Bees' mouth-watering Carabao Cup quarter-final clash against Eddie Howe's Magpies on 15 December.