Forest too strong for Brentford in opening day win | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest made the perfect start to the new Premier League season with a dominant 3-1 victory over Brentford at the City Ground, spoiling Keith Andrews’ first match in charge of the Bees.

The hosts needed just five minutes to go in front. From an early corner, Chris Wood reacted quickest, stabbing home at the second attempt to carry on where he left off last season after netting 20 league goals.

Forest continued to dictate the tempo and doubled their advantage three minutes before half-time. Morgan Gibbs-White floated a delightful ball into the area and Dan Ndoye, making his Premier League debut after a £36m move from Bologna, rose brilliantly to head in.

There was still time for a third before the interval. Elliot Anderson intercepted a poor pass from Sepp van den Berg, slid Wood through on goal, and the New Zealander coolly rounded Caoimhin Kelleher to make it 3-0 at half-time.

Brentford hit back late on

Andrews’ side struggled to get into the game, but were handed a lifeline 12 minutes from time when Ibrahim Sangaré was penalised for handball. Igor Thiago stepped up to convert from the spot and score his first Brentford goal.

It proved only a consolation, though, as Forest comfortably saw out the closing stages to cap off an impressive start to the 2025/26 campaign. For Brentford, it was a difficult afternoon and a tough introduction to management for Andrews..