Bryan Mbeumo was happy to step up for Brentford in the absence of Ivan Toney in their 3-1 win at Tottenham.
The Bees were without 20-goal striker Toney, who has also been nursing a hamstring injury, after he was handed an eight-month ban by the Football Association on Thursday for repeated betting breaches.
When Harry Kane fired Spurs into an early lead, it looked like Brentford’s faint hopes of European football were about to end but Mbeumo struck twice in a 12-minute period at the start of the second half before setting up Yoane Wissa for the visitors’ third late on.
“Yeah, sensational. I can’t say more than this,” Mbeumo told BT Sport.
“The first half was a bit sloppy from us, in the duels we were not maybe there but in the second half everybody raised the level and it is a fantastic win.
“Of course it is hard because we lose a big personality on the pitch (in Toney) and yeah we have to do it as a team but I am happy to score.
“I always push myself as hard as I can and yeah, I want to push the level. I am very hard on myself but I am happy.
“We want to aim high, be high on the table and we still have one chance so we will do everything we can.”
Mbeumo received praise from manager Thomas Frank after he scored his eighth and ninth goals of the campaign.
Frank added: “He works so hard, is a fantastic pressing player and can score goals, assist and link up, but maybe he lacked goals (last season).
“Probably a little bit unlucky in some situations because he hit the post seven times last year so we’re talking about margins there.
“He does work very, very hard at his finishing and especially with Justin Cochrane but also Kevin O’Connor on those two finishes he made. So, I was very pleased to see his hard work pay off.”
Brentford’s win means they are guaranteed a ninth-place finish but victory on the final day at home to champions Manchester City could secure Europa Conference League football.
Frank knows revenge will be on the mind of Pep Guardiola’s side after they stunned them at the Etihad in November.
“We know we need Tottenham and (Aston) Villa to drop points on the last day when we are facing the best team in the world,” Frank smiled.
“So, it is a little bit of a challenge but we will do everything we can to make an absolutely outstanding season even better.”
Spurs’ acting head coach Ryan Mason was left bitterly disappointed by their latest defeat with their goals against tally now standing at 62, their worst in a Premier League campaign since 2003.
He admitted: “Obviously we’re conceding a lot of goals for different reasons.
“I thought we showed a lot of courage in the first half. We were brave, played a good match with the ball but in the second half the intensity dropped.”
Football rumours: Jadon Sancho keeping contact with Borussia Dortmund
Jadon Sancho is looking increasingly likely to call time at Old Trafford in January. The Daily Mail, citing Sky Germany, says the 23-year-old winger has been in regular contact with former club Borussia Dortmund, amid his stand-off with Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag.
Staying with the Red Devils, Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite has emerged on the club’s radar for a potential January move. According to the Mail, the centre-back is viewed as a potential replacement should Harry Maguire depart the club in the new year. Branthwaite is also wanted by Manchester City, having impressed on loan at PSV Eindhoven.
And The Telegraph reports former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard is open to replacing Michael Beale as Rangers manager.
Social media round-upPlayers to watchLionel Messi: The Daily Mirror says the Inter Miami forward will return to his first club, Newell’s Old Boys, when his contract expires in 2025.
Jeremie Frimpong: The left-back is set to re-sign with Bayer Leverkusen, according to the Daily Record.
Rob Edwards disappointed not to take anything from Burnley clash
Luton boss Rob Edwards could not hide his disappointment following Burnley’s late winner, admitting his side should have got more from the game.
Jacob Bruun Larsen’s stunning strike made it 2-1 just one minute after Elijah Adebayo had drawn the Hatters level as the Clarets snatched a first win of the Premier League season.
Edwards said the result hurt after Luton had got off the mark with a 2-1 win at Everton on Saturday.
“I’m obviously really disappointed with the result, we’re down, flat and hurting because of the manner of it (the loss),” Edwards said.
“We pushed, we had set-pieces, we went forward in numbers and were brave, aggressive and didn’t allow them the control they wanted.
“But we come away with nothing and that hurts.
“The lads gave everything. The fans were clapping at the end and if they’re doing that then we’re doing the right things, but everybody will be disappointed because we should have taken something from the game.”
Luton were left to rue missed chances, having taken just one of 18 attempts.
And Edwards admitted his side, who have scored six goals in seven matches, are struggling to find the back of the net.
“We had big chances and openings, so if we weren’t doing that I’d be more worried. But we did create and I think there are positives and we’re going in the right direction,” he added.
“It’s the hardest part of football, scoring a goal, we have to keep arriving, trying to create the chances, be there with good numbers, keep working on technique, which we can practice in training.
“But other than that it’s down to the players to find a way to put it in.
“I thought we pretty much dominated the second half.
“We’ve had 15 shots inside the box tonight and only scored one. That’s proving to be the difficult thing for us at the moment.”
Vincent Kompany was delighted after his side “battled” in the second half to pick up points on the road.
He said: “It was a complete performance in the first half and in the second half it was a battle and we showed character. From our defenders to our midfielders, coming in for second balls.
“Those who know us from the Championship will know we enjoy these type of games as well and it’s not something we shy away from.”
Bayern Munich complete comeback victory at Copenhagen
Bayern Munich came from behind to secure a 2-1 win over Copenhagen in the Champions League at Parken Stadium.
A shock was on the cards in Denmark when Lukas Lerager opened the scoring for Copenhagen 10 minutes after the break, but Munich were on level terms through Jamal Musiala’s clever strike from outside the area.
The decisive moment of the game came with 83 minutes on the clock when Mathys Tel lashed home from inside the box to break Copenhagen hearts and deny them a point.
The hosts had the first chance of the game through Mohamed Elyounoussi, but his effort from inside the area was well saved by Sven Ulreich.
Munich enjoyed the lion’s share of possession through the early stages before Elyounoussi had another chance for the home side – this time his header went straight into the gloves of Bayern goalkeeper.
Bayern came close to an opener themselves on the half-hour mark, but Joshua Kimmich’s drilled shot from outside the area flew marginally over the crossbar.
It took 45 minutes for the the visitors to register their first shot on target when Leroy Sane found space outside the area, but his whipped left-footed strike was comfortably held by Kamil Grabara.
The visitors went in search of the first goal early in the second half when Kimmich decided to have another go from range, but he was denied by Grabara again.
Much to the surprise of many, the home side opened the scoring in the 55th minute. Viktor Claesson jinked past two defenders before his initial goalbound effort was blocked, only for the ball to fall to Lerager who flashed home from inside the area.
Bayern instantly tried to shift the momentum to avoid defeat and almost got their equaliser eight minutes later, but Konrad Laimer’s header went marginally wide of a post.
Two minutes later, Thomas Tuchel’s side levelled in superb fashion through Musiala’s 67th-minute strike. The forward shifted the ball from left to right before he let fly from just outside the area and into the bottom right corner.
Munich pushed for a winner but Sane’s effort from a tight angle did not test Grabara in the home goal. Copenhagen did not want to settle for the solitary point either and could have regained their advantage, but Elyounoussi’s shot flew just wide of the target.
With seven minutes left on the clock, Bayern turned the game on its head after some fantastic work from Thomas Muller. He opened up the space for Tel, who blasted high into the net from 10 yards to make it two wins from their opening two Champions League games in Group A.
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