Albion beat Brentford 2-0 at the Amex and go second in the Premier League

Albion are second in the Premier League⁵ after beating Brentford 2-0 at the Amex on Sunday. Diego Gomez and Pascal Gross scored in the first half, and the win took Albion above Manchester City.

It was Albion’s first home game after five away in a row, in front of 31,629. Gomez opened the scoring in the 15th minute. He picked up a clearance 25 yards out, moved the ball onto his left foot and hit it into the top corner, his second goal of the season.

Brentford’s Igor Thiago was then sent off for violent conduct after a VAR review.

Gross made it 2-0 from the penalty spot four minutes before half-time, after Luka Vuskovic was pulled down at a corner. It was his fifth goal of the season. Albion had chances to add more after the break, and Yankuba Minteh came on for the last eight minutes, his first appearance at the Amex since his pre-season injury.

The clean sheet was Albion’s 11th of the season in all competitions. They have 22 points from 10 games, five behind leaders Arsenal and one ahead of City.

Fabian Hurzeler said fans “should always be excited if they watch our game, and that’s our job to make them excited.”

Gross played down talk of a title challenge. “We are not in a title race,” he said. “But we have started the season really well.”

There is now an international break. Albion’s next game is away at Hull City on Sunday 22 November at 2pm.

Albion Women lost 2-1 at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, their first defeat in four games. Fran Kirby scored after three minutes, but Spurs scored twice early in the second half. The women are back at home on Wednesday against Watford in the Players’ Cup.