Kevin Schade scored a hat-trick as Brentford extended Bournemouth's winless run with a commanding 4-1 victory at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday. The win lifts Thomas Frank's side to eighth in the Premier League, while Bournemouth's struggles deepen after a third consecutive defeat.
Schade opened the scoring after being set up by Igor Thiago, who also played a key role in Brentford's second goal, which was a chaotic own goal involving Bournemouth defenders Bafodé Diakité and Marcos Senesi. The German forward added his second just after halftime, finishing a swift counter-attack orchestrated by Thiago and Yehor Yarmolyuk.
Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo, who is reportedly a target for Manchester City, pulled one back with a backheel from close range. But Schade completed his treble in stoppage time, nodding home from a corner to seal the win.
Brentford caretaker manager Keith Andrews praised his team's mentality. 'Don't be down on yourself,' he said. 'It's easy to look at what you haven't got. We focus on what we have, and the players delivered.' Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola lamented a slow start. 'We arrived 45 minutes late for a Premier League game,' he said.
Bournemouth have now not won in the league since October 26, and Iraola faces mounting pressure as his side sits 15th. The loss of key defenders Dean Huijsen, Illia Zabarnyi, and Milos Kerkez has taken a heavy toll, while a lack of goals remains a persistent problem.
