Burnley vs Brentford. Premier League.
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Report and free match highlights as goals from Jacob Bruun Larsen and David Fofana punish 10-player Brentford; Kristoffer Ajer goal makes Burnley sweat late on but goalkeeper Arijanet Muric stands strong
Saturday 16 March 2024 18:45, UK
Burnley breathed life into their survival hopes with a 2-1 win over Brentford, who had Sergio Reguilon sent off after just nine minutes.
The Brentford full-back was dismissed for a professional foul, missed by the referee but spotted by VAR, on Vitinho inside the area. Jacob Bruun Larsen dispatched the spot kick and Burnley doubled their lead on 62 minutes when David Fofana, who was guilty of a comical miss in the first half, redeemed himself with a neat finish.
All looked set for a routine win but the 10 men sensed a comeback when Kristoffer Ajer headed home on 83 minutes to set up a grandstand finish, but goalkeeper Arijanet Muric - in for the dropped James Trafford - marshalled his area expertly under Brentford's direct approach to ensure Burnley picked up their fourth win of the Premier League season.
It leaves Vincent Kompany's men eight points from safety and drags Brentford back into the relegation mix. They are now just four points above the drop zone.
A run of 14 defeats in 19 games across all competitions has left Brentford looking over their shoulder towards the dreaded drop zone and they got off to the worst possible start.
An early Burnley attack saw Josh Cullen swing the ball into the box, where Vitinho went to ground following contact from behind from Reguilon.
The VAR intervened and after referee Darren Bond had watched the incident back at pitchside, a penalty was awarded, Reguilon was given his marching orders and Bruun Larsen coolly sent the spot-kick past Mark Flekken.
At the other end Fofana produced one of the misses of the season from three yards out when looking certain to score having been teed up by Lorenz Assignon's cutback.
Muric, taking his opportunity, then produced a fine save to deny Yoane Wissa, before Fofana, having lurked behind Flekken as he prepared to take a kick, emerged to nick the ball, only to be thwarted by the Dutchman as he tried to take it past him.
Fofana was then able to redeem himself in the 62nd minute as he was played in by Wilson Odobert and slotted past Flekken.
It looked like easy street from then on for Kompany's side but they became nervous and Brentford were sparked into life by Bryan Mbeumo returning from three months out with an ankle injury.
Ajer got what Brentford deserved when heading in a cross from Shandon Baptiste.
Nine minutes of stoppage time saw Brentford pile on the pressure with Toney being penalised for a challenge on Muric as the ball looped into the net. The off-field officials did not intervene this time - despite Brentford's protests - and Burnley held on for a vital win.
Burnley boss Vincent Kompany: "It feels great. We have to celebrate. I've celebrated a few times in my life so I'm sure I'll get the hang of it again. So many times we've come back into the dressing room and we've played well but not got the results. We've earned the right to celebrate.
"We started hard from the beginning, and we created situations that forced mistakes from the opponent. For large spells we did exactly what you should do against 10 men - we got the second goal but I don't know how we missed other chances. We then played like a team that hasn't been winning, but we did what we had to do.
"There's never been a lack of belief. We have total belief. I just want to see the players being alive."
Brentford boss Thomas Frank said: "I'm very proud of the players, what mentality to play like that with 10 players. We were very close to getting a point."
On claims for a penalty...
"It was a clear penalty on Zanka in the second half, we have Ivan Toney [on penalties] so that would have been 1-1 - how the referee or the VAR couldn't see that was incredible. They say you can't hold or grab players in the box - this was a murder in the box."
Burnley's survival fight heads to Chelsea after the international break on Saturday March 30. Kick-off 3pm.
Brentford host Manchester United on the same day, live on Sky Sports. Kick-off 8pm.
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