Kevin Schade scored a superb a hat-trick as Brentford beat Leicester City 4-1 in the Premier League on Saturday.
Facundo Buonanotte put the Foxes in front midway through the first half, but the Bees responded emphatically and took a 3-1 lead into the half-time break. Yoane Wissa, assisted by Schade, began the comeback with a close-range finish, and the Germany international netted his third goal after the interval to put the icing on Brentford’s fourth successive win at Gtech Community Stadium.
There was one personnel change and a switch of system for the Foxes’ visit to west London: Schade came in for Vitaly Janelt as head coach Thomas Frank opted for a more offensive 4-3-3 system.
Captain Christian Nørgaard joined compatriots Mikkel Damsgaard and Mathias Jensen in midfield after the club successfully appealed his red card in the goalless draw with Everton the previous weekend.
The visitors had the first effort on goal. Buonanotte intercepted Mark Flekken’s loose pass and fired low towards the near post, and the keeper made amends by diving to his left and gathering the ball at the second time of asking.
At the other end, Keane Lewis-Potter crossed from the left and Schade’s looping header was tipped over the bar by a back-pedalling Mads Hermansen.
On 14 minutes, Bryan Mbeumo’s corner was headed away to Damsgaard on the edge of the area.
The midfielder’s sweetly struck half volley looked destined for the top corner but was blocked by a defender in a crowded box, and Nørgaard then blazed over the bar with a first-time effort.
The Foxes edged in front midway through the half, and it was a goal of Jamie Vardy’s making. The striker latched on to Jordan Ayew’s through ball, got the better of Ethan Pinnock and squared unselfishly for Buonanotte to turn home from close range.
As they have done so often this season, the Bees responded immediately. Damsgaard broke the lines with a perfectly weighted pass and Schade crossed low towards the back post, leaving Wissa with the simplest of finishes to take his tally for the Premier League campaign to eight.
Brentford scored their second less than four minutes after the restart. Lewis-Potter skipped forward, and his square pass was helped on by Wissa towards Mbeumo.
Rather than shifting the ball on to his left and going for goal, Mbeumo spotted Schade in space to the left of the penalty spot and picked him out with a low cross.
Schade took the shot early, and the ball took a slight deflection off Boubakary Soumaré on its way beyond Hermansen and into the bottom corner.
Damsgaard’s free-kick from 25 yards dipped over the crossbar, and Schade had another shot blocked, as Frank’s side went in search of a third.
Schade, visibly boosted by his first Premier League goal of the season, extended the Bees’ advantage in the final seconds of the half.
Damsgaard, again pulling the strings, threaded the ball into the box and Schade took a touch to set himself before expertly lifting over the keeper and into the far corner via the inside of the post.
Brentford picked up where they left off. Hermansen reacted quickly to palm away Wissa’s close-range effort, but the assistant’s flag was raised for offside as the forward had drifted narrowly offside to meet Damsgaard’s delivery from the left.
Collins then burst down the right, Mbeumo crossed from the byline and Damsgaard’s diving header flew narrowly over the bar.
Schade completed his hat-trick just before the hour mark, becoming only the second Bees player to net a Premier League treble after Ivan Toney.
Collins, taking up another advanced position midway inside the Foxes’ half, cut open the visitors’ backline with a superb pass. Schade ran on to it and confidently tucked away beyond a helpless Hermansen.
Ayew and Luke Thomas both cleared the crossbar from outside the area as Leicester looked to reduce the deficit.
Fábio Carvalho, introduced alongside Igor Thiago and Yehor Yarmoliuk, tested Hermansen with a side-footed effort from 20 yards, before the Foxes raced up the other end and Stephy Mavididi was thwarted by Flekken.
The full-time whistle confirmed Brentford’s sixth Premier League win at the Gtech this season. Frank’s side have dropped just two points from a possible 21 on home soil.
Brentford: Flekken; van den Berg (Roerslev 83), Collins, Pinnock, Lewis-Potter; Nørgaard (Yarmoliuk 70), Jensen (Janelt 42), Damsgaard (Carvalho 70); Schade (Thiago 70), Wissa, Mbeumo
Subs not used: Valdimarsson, Mee, Konak, Maghoma
Leicester City: Hermansen; Faes, Coady, Okoli (Vestergaard 35); Justin, Ndidi, Soumaré (Skipp 64), Thomas; Buonanotte (Mavididi 64), Ayew (De Cordova-Reid 80); Vardy (Daka 64)
Subs not used: Ward, Kristiansen, Choudhury, El Khannouss
Attendance: 17,084