Towering trio crucial to Brentford survival

Crystal Palace

Two games played, zero goals conceded. Brentford’s Premier League adventure has started wonderfully, and their early promise has been built on the solidity of their gigantic back three.

There are few topflight defences more physically robust than Thomas Frank’s. For the first two matches of this campaign, he has called on Kristoffer Ajer (6ft 6in), Pontus Jansson (6ft 4in) and Ethan Pinnock (6ft 4in) at the base of his team.

On Saturday, the towering trio were forced to cope with the considerable aerial threat of Crystal Palace’s Christian Benteke. They shut down the Palace frontman, aside from one second-half chance, and did the same to Jeffrey Schlupp and Wilfried Zaha.

Ajer was especially impressive in his duels with Zaha. The Norwegian, who joined from Celtic for about £13million last month, is decep- tively quick for a player of his gangly physique.

Brentford are a flexible side, capable of flitting between strategies within matches, and the centre-backs play a key role in their approach. They can fight for the ball, dominate in the air and play out from the back. In Pinnock, they have a player who has already proved capable of dribbling out of opposition pressure.

The three also bring a mix of personalities, with Pinnock naturally quiet and Ajer a natural leader. He was only 16 when he was given the captain’s armband at his first professional club, IK Start in Norway.

Tougher tests await for Brentford, but four points from two games is as good a start as they could have realistically hoped for. If their threeman defence can remain as formidable as they have been so far, Brentford should have more than enough to stay in the division.