Fulham beat Brentford (2-1 after extra time) on Tuesday in the final of the Premier League play-off at Wembley and will return to the English top flight just a year after leaving it. The curse of the playoffs once again struck Brentford who, since the 1990/1991 season, has lost in the semi-finals or in the final in the nine play-offs he has played, either to advance to the Championship or the Premier League. Fulham, who arrived 4th in the regular season, beaten on goal difference by Brentford (3rd) who had the best attack with 80 goals, waited for extra time to unlock this disappointing West London derby for 90 minutes.
The late and unlikely hero of the game was left-back Joe Bryan. He opened the scoring with a fairly harmless free kick, more than 35 meters from the goal and slightly off-center, seeing that the Spanish goalkeeper of the “Bees”, David Raya, had taken an insane risk at this point in the match. placing on its six meters. Bryan rolled up his left strike which went flush with the post (1-0, 105th). Three minutes from the end, he did not hesitate to project himself forward to double the bet after a one-two with Aleksandar Mitrovic, the Championship's top scorer (26 goals), returned just before extra time.
A BMW running out of fuel
A cruel epilogue for Brentford who reduced the score in added time by Henrik Dalsgaard (2-1, 120 + 3), but his triplet Said Benrahma, Bryan Mbeumo and Ollie Watkins - nicknamed BMW -, who had registered the appreciable total of 59 league goals this season has been far too discreet. It was not until a 16-meter strike from the last, 20 minutes from the end of regulation time, boxed by Marek Rodak above his cages, to attend the first banderillas of the Bees. Certainly worn out by the 46 days of the regular season and the two semi-final games, the Brentford players lacked precision in the opposing last 30 meters.
The stake of a match whose spinoffs have been estimated at 160 million pounds (177.2 M €) - 85 M GBP (94.2 M €) in television rights next season and 75 M GBP (83 M € ) in “parachute” payments over the next two seasons if they were relegated at the end of the first year - was also a bit tense. The Cottagers, however, deserved their victory in this match after having had the best chances by Josh Onomah (4th, 17th), on which Raya had been impeccable and a free kick from Neeskens Kebano (48th) at the post.
Read also
- At the start of the Champions League, Neymar saw his "best moments in Paris"
