Igor Thiago has built an eclectic goal catalogue on the way to breaking the record for the most goals scored in a Premier League season by a Brazilian. There have been plenty of penalties and a few slices of luck at the start but his 15th and 16th of the campaign were netted in the confident and composed fashion he has become so familiar with, rounding the goalkeeper for his first and finding the far corner for his second later on.
Those goals, either side of a failed Panenka penalty from the Sunderland attacker Enzo Le Fée, put Brentford in position to take their league unbeaten record to six games, continuing their best performances so far under Keith Andrews. Yehor Yarmoliuk netted from a corner to ensure a comfortable finish for his side.
Andrews’s side were quick out of the gates in search of an early lead. They were punished for wasting chances in the reverse fixture back in August and looked like a side eager to add to the four goals they put past Everton at the weekend.
Robin Roefs, the Sunderland goalkeeper, was called into action in the first minute as the home midfield piled forwards from kick-off. A cross from Yarmoliuk found Kevin Schade who, in a tight space, did well to chest down and lift towards the back post to leave Roefs scrambling to tip it over the bar.
The goalkeeper Roefs can’t stop Thiago from opening the scoring
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Mathias Jensen sent a warning sign to the visiting midfield, who had become sloppy in possession. He cut out a stray pass on the wing and led the attack himself, dribbling into the open space left on the right. Sunderland were let off, though, as the Dane waited half a second too long to play it to Thiago. By the time he had done so, the backtracking defenders had made up enough ground to cut out the chance.
The breakthrough would soon arrive, though. Vitaly Janelt, a long-serving member of this Brentford team, has managed to keep Jordan Henderson out of the side in recent weeks and he showed why again here as he robbed Nordi Mukiele. Thiago was on his way as soon as the ball was won, timing his run to perfection as he picked up the well-weighted pass to dribble beyond Roefs and finish with ease.
Le Fée sends his penalty down the centre where it is saved by Kelleher to keep Brentford 1-0 up …
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… And within minutes the prolific Thiago heads home to make it 2-0
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Causing havoc in the box is a speciality of the physical home team, but with Dan Ballard making his first start for Sunderland since before Christmas, it was the visiting side who looked the most dangerous from set-piece situations and looked likely to score an equaliser after half-time.
Brian Brobbey, one of the few strikers in the league who beats Thiago for physicality, provided a challenge for Brentford’s back line and the Dutchman’s strength got the better of Kristoffer Ajer. He bullied the centre half, who wrestled him to the ground to concede a penalty.
That chance was wasted though, as Caoimhin Kelleher held his nerve to stay on his feet and read the effort of Le Fée. The winger’s attempt to chip down the middle was plucked out of the air to stunt the building momentum from Régis Le Bris’s side.
Yarmoliuk taps in Brentford’s third, the Ukrainian’s first goal for the club since joining from Dnipro-1 in July 2022
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“Even if we didn’t start well, we had the opportunity at the beginning of the second half to get back in the game. I think we showed better energy but when you miss this kind of opportunity, I think it’s like a switch in the game and the energy of the crowd got even better and we lost ours,” Le Bris said.
Thiago would find his fifth goal in two matches soon after sparing his team-mates’ blushes in the process. He had initially set up Schade to finish from close range, only for him to hit the crossbar. But the ball was recycled and headed in by the Brazilian — who, his manager suggested, has yet to reach his full potential.
“I don’t know how many have come from the Bulgarian League to the Belgian League, had a year out injured pretty much and then affected the league like this,” Andrews said. “So I think he’s ahead of schedule really.
“It’s not just the goals, it’s his overall performance and the selfless way he plays the game. He’s not a centre forward that just stays between the two centre backs and looks to poach goals. He’s all action. He leads the line, he runs the channels, he presses back, he’s amazing from set pieces. He’s a complete centre forward.”
Yarmoliuk finished the job when he found space in a busy box. From a goalmouth scramble the ball fell to the midfielder, who lashed through the crowd to make it three.
Brentford (4-2-3-1): C Kelleher — M Kayode (A Hickey 82min), K Ajer, N Collins, R Henry — Y Yarmoliuk, V Janelt — K Lewis-Potter (M Damsgaard 61), M Jensen (J Henderson 72), K Schade — I Thiago (R Nelson 82). Booked Thiago, Janelt.
Sunderland (4-2-3-1): R Roefs — N Mukiele, D Ballard (D Cirkin 79), O Alderete (L O’Nien 83), T Hume — G Xhaka, L Geertruida (D Neill 79) — E Le Fee, C Rigg (E Mayenda 52), S Adingra (R Mundle 52) — B Brobbey. Booked Hume.
Referee M Donohue. Attendance 17,016.