Ouattara Shines As Brentford Beat Newcastle 3-2 On His 100th Premier League Appearance

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Brentford climbed back into the Premier League’s top seven with a 3-2 victory over Newcastle United at St. James Park, secured by Dango Ouattara’s 85th-minute strike on the forward’s 100th league appearance, moving Brentford level on points with sixth-place Liverpool after a dramatic and open contest.

The hosts struck first when Sven Botman headed in a 24th-minute opener, but Brentford responded before half-time. Vitaly Janelt levelled with a close-range header from an Ouattara cross, and Igor Thiago then converted a penalty awarded for Jacob Murphy’s handball, sending Brentford into the break with a 2-1 advantage.

Newcastle United fought back in the second half through Bruno Guimaraes, who returned from injury and appeared to rescue a point. Guimaraes won a penalty and calmly scored in the 79th minute, yet Brentford refused to settle, with Ouattara drilling home the decisive goal six minutes from time after another swift attacking move.

Ouattara’s composed finish meant the attacker scored in back-to-back league matches for the first time since September 2022, when a four-game scoring run with Lorient in Ligue 1 highlighted Ouattara’s threat. The former Bournemouth player also supplied two key chances and completed two successful dribbles, more than any Brentford teammate at St. James Park.

The win continued a sharp turnaround in Brentford’s Premier League away form. After losing seven of the first eight league matches on the road this season, with one victory, Brentford have now taken four wins from the last five away fixtures, suffering only one defeat during that improved sequence.

Performance data underlined Newcastle United’s frustration, as the hosts produced higher expected goals with 2.25 xG compared with Brentford’s 1.93. Newcastle created enough opportunities to take something from the game, but Brentford were more clinical in decisive moments, converting key chances to strengthen hopes of a European push.