Brentford beat Brighton in top-half battle, as Toney scores two more (video)

Brentford vs Brighton recap: Ivan Toney scored once from open play and once from the penalty spot to hand the Bees a much-needed 2-0 victory over the Seagulls in west London on Friday.

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Toney opened the scoring with a sensational backheel finish in the 27th minute and followed it up with a penalty kick, which he also earned, in the 64th. The 26-year-old now has eight Premier League goals this season, putting him level with Harry Kane for second-most. Erling Haaland remains seven ahead with 15.

The victory sends Brentford (13 points – 8th place) into the top half of the PL table, where Brighton (14 points – 7th) remain stuck in neutral themselves after beginning the post-Graham Potter era with a draw and now two straight defeats.

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It wouldn’t be at all unfair to say that, ever since Graham Potter came to the club in the summer of 2019, Brighton have played a more attractive, entertaining style of football than have the Bees in their season-plus in the top flight. Last season, it produced five more points and a finish four places better in the Premier League table. This season (thus far), just one point and one place.

It’s hard to watch Brentford vs Brighton without thinking, “How good would these Seagulls be if they had a center forward like that guy?” Friday’s game saw two drastically different philosophies produce roughly the same quality of scoring chances (1.56 and 1.79 xG, respectively), with one side prioritizing quality over quantity, and vice versa for the other. David Raya, of course, played his part and made seven saves to keep his third clean sheet of the season.

Not only did Toney score two more goals on Friday (his 52nd and 53rd goals for