Opinion: Brentford humbling shows Burnley need to act like they belong in the Premier League...and quick

This was meant to be the point where Burnley finally got to grips with life back in the Premier League and begin to put points on the board on a more regular basis.

Instead, we’ve been left with a lot more questions than answers.

Despite their poor start, with just one win to their name from their opening eight games, Brentford aren’t a side expected to be in the relegation picture.

But nevertheless, this was a game where Burnley were expected to be competitive, just as they were against Nottingham Forest back in September when the Clarets were cruelly denied victory.

But what transpired was the complete opposite, because there’s a good argument to be made that this was Burnley’s worst performance of the season to date.

Well beaten

This was just as one-sided as the heavy defeats to Man City, Tottenham and Aston Villa. In fact, if you’re going off Expected Goals (xG), it was worse. Brentford were expected to score 3.16 times compared to Burnley’s 0.69. That’s the heaviest xG they’ve conceded this season, closely followed by 3.09 during the 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United.

We don’t really need to use clever statistics and metrics to determine this one though, it was clear as day that Burnley had been utterly dominated. The eventual scoreline of 3-0 flattered them.

If we’re being brutally honest, the Bees ought to have been leading 3-0 at half-time such was their level of control of proceedings.

Brentford were in their faces from the off, bringing impressive levels of intensity and energy with their high pressing, which the visitors never really got to grips with.

The Clarets, as we’ve now become accustomed to, continued to play out from the back – which is fine, that’s their approach.

But what was their undoing was their lackadaisicalness on the ball, taking far too much time to get the ball out of their feet before picking out a pass. That even applies to goalkeeper James Trafford, who was caught out playing out from the back only for a block to fly behind for a goal kick, rather than anything else more embarrassing.

Ameen Al-Dakhil and Sander Berge were both guilty of the same discrepancies. On one occasion they just about got away with it, with Dara O’Shea clearing off the line, but in the second instance it resulted in Brentford scoring their opening goal.

It was thoroughly deserved though and had been a long time coming, but nevertheless the nature of it – with Burnley shooting themselves in the foot – is the most disappointing aspect.

While Trafford wasn’t at his best with the ball at his feet, he had an excellent game when it came to shot stopping. If it wasn’t for him and his string of fine stops, this comfortable scoreline could have been even more embarrassing.

You dread to think what the scoreline would have been had Ivan Toney been leading the line for the home side and not Neal Maupay, who still played well but doesn’t possess the clinical touch of the banned England striker.

Few positives

To Burnley’s credit, they did show signs of improvement at the start of the second-half, perhaps in the knowledge they were lucky to still be in the game. It was also impossible to be any worse.

But while they finally exerted some pressure and put the Bees onto the back foot, their quality let them down at the vital moments and they were unable to carve open any real clear-cut chances.

Once Brentford added their second, which was a goal of real quality, the Clarets lost their heads completely and wilted. The scoreline could have been anything at this point.

Instead, it ‘only’ ended at three, which is as damning a sentence as I can write. But it really should have been more.

Connor Roberts rubbed salt into the wound to compound Burnley’s misery when he was needlessly sent off for a second yellow. He’ll now miss next weekend’s rather significant trip to Bournemouth, which is hardly ideal.

It’s perhaps the least of their worries at this moment in time, but having a player sent off at an average of once every three games isn’t exactly going to help them.

Assessing the damage

And so here we are, nine games in and seven defeats to boot. Four points out of a possible 27.

But what is most disconcerting for me is that Burnley are the ones giving themselves a mountain to climb. Not only do they need to find a way to get results, firstly they need to find a solution just to stay in games and remain competitive, because at this moment in time they’re being blown away.

Does this call for a change in approach? Or would that be a knee-jerk reaction? Either way, you wouldn’t expect any drastic changes from Kompany. It’s likely to be incremental rather than anything major.

What this all means is that next week’s trip to the South Coast to face a Bournemouth side that have yet to pick up a win this season is absolutely huge.

It’s maybe too soon to describe it as a must-win, but it’s certainly must-not-lose at the very least, because the Clarets simply can’t afford to be cut adrift down at the bottom.

This isn’t the time to panic. Instead, it’s time to stand up and show some resolve. Show the Premier League Burnley do belong in the top flight after all.

A team doesn’t win a Championship title with 101 points by mistake, there’s a very good reason why they’re sat among the top table. But now they’ve got to start acting like they deserve to be here.