2-2 draw leaves Brentford three points above Bournemouth

Bournemouth drew 2-2 with Brentford at the Vitality Stadium, keeping Brentford’s unbeaten start intact after three league matches. Bournemouth’s recent sequence is now loss, draw, draw, while Brentford have followed a win with two draws.

How it happened

Brentford struck first in the 34th minute when Kevin Schade converted Yehor Yarmoliuk’s assist. Justin Kluivert levelled for Bournemouth four minutes later, sending the teams into half-time at 1-1. Marcus Tavernier put Bournemouth ahead in the 52nd minute after Francisco Evanilson supplied the assist, but Schade restored parity four minutes later with his second goal of the afternoon.

The numbers

Bournemouth carried more of the attacking workload, recording 19 shots to Brentford’s seven and 10 shots on goal compared with two. The hosts also had 57% possession and completed 388 accurate passes from 473 total, while Brentford completed 249 accurate passes from 352. Brentford goalkeeper saves totalled eight, compared with none for Bournemouth.

Who decided it

Tavernier led the match ratings at 8.2 after 83 minutes, adding three shots on target and four key passes. Schade followed at 8.0 across the full 90 minutes, with two shots on target and one tackle. Justin Kluivert rated 7.7 in 66 minutes, while Antione Truffert produced seven tackles and two shots on target.

Why it matters

Brentford remain fifth with five points from three matches and a plus-three goal difference, three points above Bournemouth. Bournemouth sit 15th with two points, while Manchester City lead on nine; the gap to the leaders is four points for Brentford and seven for Bournemouth.