‘Never doubt Bryan’ – Mbeumo ‘Premier League’s best’ penalty taker

Before Bryan Mbeumo even hits the ball, Brentford are so confident in his penalty-taking prowess that his team-mates are celebrating.

Before Mbeumo even began his run up against Crystal Palace, Yoane Wissa raised both his arms and ran towards the Brentford fans.

The Cameroon forward duly hit the net in his side’s 2-1 win at Selhurst Park, keeping his 100% spot-kick record in the Premier League.

However, Mbeumo did need some good fortune to maintain his record. After a lengthy video assistant referee (VAR) review spotted Palace’s Marc Guehi entering the penalty area before the ball was struck, a retake was ordered after his initial effort hit the inside of the post.

It made Wissa’s confidence in his team-mate all the more telling.

After the match, Brentford manager Thomas Frank called Mbeumo the Premier League’s best penalty-taker.

“We had the]best] before]in Ivan Toney] and now we have a second one”, Frank said.

Since his first in December, 2021, Mbeumo has scored 10 penalties in all competitions in English football, missing none.

When it comes to just Premier League spot-kicks, only Cole Palmer, Raul Jimenez and Yaya Toure have taken more than the 25-year-old’s nine without failing to score.

Brentford’s last penalty-taking talisman was Toney who scored 11 from 12 yards in the English top flight, but even he missed his penultimate effort for the Bees.

With Mbeumo receiving a suspended suspension from VAR on Sunday, he had a jumping run-up just before the ball and patiently waited for goalkeeper Dean Henderson to divert the ball in the wrong direction.

“Never doubt Bryan”, said team-mate Nathan Collins. He and I have mutual confidence, and we are both very confident in him. To do that on your second one, it’s unreal”.

Asked about Wissa’s early celebration, Mbeumo said it was down to their pair’s friendship “on and off the pitch”.

“If one of us scores, then we are really happy for the other”, Mbeumo told Sky Sports.

He added his winning penalty-taking formula was down to “just focusing myself”.