Brentford manager, Thomas Frank has urged his players “to do better” after 3-3 friendly draw against Aston Villa.
Early goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Josh Dasilva saw Brentford take a 2-0 lead into the first-half cooling break, only for goals from Ezri Konsa, Moussa Diaby and Matty Cash to put Villa ahead at half-time before Shandon Baptiste rescued the Bees a draw.
The result meant that Brentford finished the Premier League Summer Series sat bottom of the table with just one point, whilst Chelsea took the inaugural title despite having not faced the Bees due to the tournament’s format.
Frank though feels that his team needs to protect their lead better after letting their two-goal lead slip with three goals conceded in a ten-minute spell.
“It was a fine start to the first half with the two goals but it was just after the cooling break – the second half of the first half – that was disappointing,” commented Frank on the unexpected drop in performance from 2-0 up after 22 minutes.
Explaining exactly what he thought went wrong, Frank said: “In that spell we were too stretched. They played between the lines and opened us up. That’s definitely something we need to look into.
“The second half was much better and much more balanced.”
The Dane however is happy with the tactical setup against Villa but wants improvement in possession going into their final pre-season friendly against Lille at home in West London.
Reflecting on the positives of the draw against Villa and looking ahead, Frank added: “Overall, throughout the game, I liked our structure and initiative, but we still need to be better on the ball. We made too many simple mistakes; touches, positions and passes.
“We need to do better overall, there’s no doubt about that. In the 50-50 duels we were okay but I want to be even better in that area.”
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