It was a rare stalemate at the Brentford Community Stadium as Brentford and Tottenham played out a goalless draw that won't live long in the memory.
It was a game that only mustered two shots on target, both of which were from Thomas Frank's side. Brentford were dealt a heavy blow having lost Kristoffer Ajer and Christian Norgaard, due to concussion and minor injury.
Nonetheless, they were by far the better side and will feel they should have won the game. Ivan Toney hit the woodwork twice, with his header hitting the post in injury time denying Frank's side all three points. It was a performance to be proud of and will give the team confidence for the remaining couple of games.
Brentford reporter Uzzi Majid looks at some of the talking points from the draw against Antonio Conte's side.
Excellent all round performance
Brentford were excellent from start to finish against Spurs. They started the game brilliantly, and almost took the lead after 17 minutes when Toney's header hit the crossbar from Christian Eriksen's corner. The Dane, appearing against his former side for the first time since leaving them in January 2020, was superb and received a standing ovation when he took the corner near the travelling away fans.
The Bees did not allow Spurs to get a foothold of the game at all, with the north Londoners failing to muster a shot on target for the second game running. Skipper Pontus Jansson and Toney came mightily close in the second half, but lady luck ultimately wasn't on Brentford's side.
Nullifying Kane and Son
The line-up raised many eyebrows amongst fans, not just the loss of Ajer and Norgaard, but seeing the likes of Mads Roerslev, Mads Bech Sorensen and Saman Ghoddos - with the Iranian playing in an unorthodox right wing-back role. All three of them rose to the challenge superbly, with Ghoddos and Roerslev keeping Spurs' left-hand flank of Ryan Sessegnon and Heung-min Son relatively quiet.
Jansson and Sorensen did not give Harry Kane much of a sniff either, although the majority of the crowd were silent when the England striker almost undeservedly stole it for Spurs late on. The back five did their jobs superbly, with Rico Henry barely given any problems by Dejan Kulusevski.
Full week to prepare for United
After a strong performance against a side battling for a place in next season's Champions League, Brentford head to Old Trafford next Monday where they can have yet another say in the top four race, with Manchester United having a slim possibility of making the top four. Ralf Rangnick's side face Chelsea on Thursday night, where a win would keep their faint hopes alive.
However, Brentford will have a full week of training to prepare for the trip to Old Trafford, and with United playing on Thursday, they could possibly be able to take advantage of any fatigue in the United camp. If the Bees can replicate the performance from yesterday, many would not put the possibility of a first win at Old Trafford since 1937 beyond them.
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