Analysis: The numbers behind Kayode's 'impressive impact'
Nottingham Forest have had the City Ground rocking on a regular basis during their fantastic 2024/25 campaign, but a sensational all-round display from Brentford sent the home fans flocking for the exits early on Thursday night.
Fifth in the table, level on points with Chelsea, Nuno Espírito Santo's side are still right in the hunt for Europe, but the Bees dented Forest's UEFA Champions League hopes with a 2-0 win that allied a razor-sharp cutting edge in attack with impressive defensive resolve.
Goals either side of the break from Kevin Schade and Yoane Wissa did the damage as the west Londoners recorded their sixth away win of 2025 courtesy of a rock-solid performance that strengthened their bid for a place in next season's Europa Conference League.
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Brentford have won more away points (19) than any other team in the Premier League since the turn of the year and their latest victory on the road moved Thomas Frank's side to within two points of eighth-placed Fulham.
Head coach Frank's delight with a "very robust" display was clear for all to see at the final whistle and the Dane was full of praise for his backline, which appears stronger than ever following the addition of Fiorentina loanee Michael Kayode.
The Italian Under-21 international has made an impressive impact since his arrival in January and he was outstanding on the night against a Forest side whose ability to launch lightning-fast counters in wide areas has become something of a calling card.
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The 20-year-old right-back had seen off the threat posed by Callum Hudson-Odoi by half-time, as the winger was subbed at the break, and Kayode's athleticism and defensive intelligence means he retains a 100 per cent success rate in 1v1 situations in a Brentford shirt.
Notably, 49 per cent of the Bees' attacks came down Kayode's right flank against Forest and the Juventus academy product progressed the ball well in possession, in addition to his watertight defensive work.
Brentford stood firm on a night of flighty weather, which centre-half Nathan Collins afterwards said was only missing snow, and the Irish centre-back delivered another stunning all-round display, with seven aerials won and 13 clearances only upstaged by his laser-guided assist for Schade's opening goal.
Collins (112) is now ahead of Liverpool colossus Virgil van Dijk (110), and behind only Newcastle United's Dan Burn (129), for aerial duels won this season and still leads the entire division for shots blocked in 2024/25 with 49.
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Sepp van den Berg again impressed alongside Collins, the young Dutchman finishing with the best pass completion percentage (93%) of any player on the pitch against Forest, while his compatriot Mark Flekken added to his personal collection of impressive statistics.
Along with Manchester City's Ederson (4), Flekken (now 3) is one of only two goalkeepers with multiple Premier League assists over the past two seasons and the Netherlands international's pinged goal kick bamboozled Nikola Milenković to allow Wissa to coolly dink home Brentford's second goal of the night.
Sharp in attack and solid in defence at Forest, Frank's side will now train their sights on Sunday's huge home game against a Manchester United team buoyed by Europa League success against Athletic Bilbao
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