Brentford waited five games for a win and then got one against a Nottingham Forest side that had far more shots and almost nothing to show for them. A Nikola Milenkovic own goal on the half-hour and a 76th-minute finish from Igor Thiago made it 2-0 for the Bees, who climb to sixth.
For Forest, the afternoon was another small lesson in how a team can attack for 90 minutes and still lose.
Ouattara makes the opening
The first goal belonged to Dango Ouattara, even if it went down as an own goal. The Burkina Faso winger skipped past Murillo on the right and drilled a cross into the six-yard box. Milenkovic stretched to block it, and the ball looped over his own goalkeeper Matz Sels and in.
Mathias Jensen could have doubled the lead before half-time, but his free-kick came back off the crossbar.
Thiago gets his second of the week
Forest finished with 15 shots at the Brentford goal, yet the home keeper Caoimhin Kelleher was rarely stretched. Substitute Ryan Yates headed over from close range early in the second half, and James McAtee's effort in the 78th minute was Forest's only shot on target. Brentford's first came in the 76th, and it was the one that mattered.
Jaidon Anthony had barely come on when he started a counter-attack and squared for Thiago, whose shot beat Sels. It was the Brazilian's second goal in three days after one at Sunderland in the Carabao Cup, and only his second in the league this season. He said afterwards he had been waiting for it for a long time.
Glasner's growing problem
Thiago scored 22 league goals last season, behind only Erling Haaland, so a drought was always going to be noticeable. Two in three days will lift the pressure on a Brentford side under Keith Andrews who are starting to look like contenders for a European place.
Forest have the opposite problem. They are second-bottom, have won once in nine league games since Oliver Glasner arrived, and have scored six goals in that time. Only Manchester United average more shots per game than Forest, yet five of their nine matches have ended without a goal. Next up is a trip to Manchester City.
Match facts: Brentford 2-0 Nottingham Forest, Premier League, Saturday 31 October 2026. Goals: Nikola Milenkovic (own goal, on the half-hour), Igor Thiago 76'.
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