How Brentford trio are playing like champions as Liverpool and Euro giants matched

When Thomas Frank learnt that Liverpool and PSG last weekend joined Brentford, and Bayern in having three players reach double digits, he joked: “They were a little bit late.”

The Bees are in rarefied air, alongside the champions of four from five of Europe’s big leagues, as they look to secure an eighth-place finish that could bring European football to the stadium Frank’s staff are calling the Goal Tech.

“It's incredible company to be part of,” he says. And in the thrilling trio of Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Kevin Schade, the Dane may have the most valuable frontline in football.

Combined they have contributed 47 of Brentford’s 63 league goals and cost just £35.9m in transfer fees. And while Frank is adamant that Brentford are yet to reach their potential, the comparisons cannot stop him from smiling.

“That is four of the biggest clubs in the . Not only now but over time and history,” he says. "I'm pretty sure their front threes, when they bought them, cost just a few quid more than when we bought our players. And they are probably creating more chances and opportunities for the strikers to score.”

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He is keen to share the acclaim around - from recruitment chief Lee Dykes and owner Matthew Benham to the coaching staff who now routinely develop rough diamonds into stars capable of thriving at the top.

But “the biggest praise,” he stresses, should go to the players themselves as Brentford continue to dream of a first appearance in Europe entering the penultimate weekend of the season.

For that to happen must beat in today’s final and Brentford need to avoid being overtaken by , and , the neighbours whom they host tomorrow.

No stadium has seen more goals than the GTech’s 70 so far this season. Frank, of course, stresses he would like the 32 conceded to be much lower - especially when only the bottom three have shipped more.

Yet no one can dispute that it has been a lot of fun and the result of a more daring approach. When Brentford arrived in the in 2021 they became pragmatic to protect their status. But at end of their fourth season Frank reckons they have become established enough to loosen the belt and perform in the free-flowing style demanded by owner Benham.

"We never know what the limit is or how high the ceiling is,” he says. “When we went up we had to tick some boxes first to make sure we could compete in the Premier League.

“That was definitely to be good defensively, good fitness, playing with intensity, set pieces and so on. But this season we decided to try and be even more dominant on the ball.”

How the front threes compare

Barcelona - £134m in transfer fees

Robert Lewandowski (25 goals, £38m), Raphinha (18, £50m), Ferran Torres (10, £46m)

Bayern Munich - £195m

(25, £100m), Leroy Sane (11, £45m), Michael Olise (11, £50m)

Midfielder Jamal Musiala is also on 11 goals

Brentford - £35.9m

Bryan Mbeumo (18, £5.4m), Yoane Wissa (18, £8.5m), Kevin Schade (10, £22m)

Liverpool £111m

(28 goals, £37m), Luis Diaz (13, £37m), (10, £37m)

PSG £135m

Ousmane Dembele (21, £42m), Bradley Barcola (14, £38m), Gonacalo Ramos (10, £55m)

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