In the desperate position Burnley find themselves in, they could ill afford to give up many more cheap goals.
But they did exactly that inside 10 minutes here against Brentford, leaving Mikkel Damsgaard unmarked at the far post and one of the smallest players on the pitch had the simplest of tasks to divert Dango Ouattara’s pinpoint delivery into the bottom corner.
The Clarets’ response was largely positive as they probed for a route back into the game, with Jaidon Anthony curling just over the bar within minutes of them falling behind, but old habits die hard for Burnley and the game was soon even further out of reach.
The second goal perhaps wasn’t as soft as the first, but one pass from Damsgaard split the Burnley defence in half and allowed Igor Thiago to race through on goal and slot home his 18th PL goal of the season.
The Bees looked like they could score at will, and Kevin Schade very nearly did when he forced a smart stop out of Martin Dubravka, but the Clarets stopper was powerless to deny him moments later when Michael Kayode’s long throw into the area caused carnage and was eventually hammered home by Brentford’s German forward.
Even a late consolation before half-time didn’t stop Scott Parker’s men getting booed off at the break, but Kayode turning Anthony’s cross into his own net did at least offer scant hope of a second-half comeback.
Scant hope became realistic within two minutes of the restart as Anthony was this time the man on target, sweeping home a loose ball at the far post to reduce the deficit to one goal.
Incredibly, the comeback was complete on the hour mark as Burnley’s third arrived from the head of Zian Flemming, who headed home his seventh PL strike of the season, but first at home, when he diverted Hannibal Mejbri’s cross back across goal.
Keith Andrews’ men were visibly shaken, and they so nearly found themselves behind when Lesley Ugochukwu burst into the area only to see a last-ditch block turn his strike behind for a corner.
It looked to be only a temporary reprieve for the Bees, who thought they found themselves behind 12 minutes from time. An inventive free-kick routine freed Anthony down the left, and after his cross was only half cleared by the Brentford defence, Flemming was on hand to finish on the line, but a VAR check ruled Anthony had strayed offside in the build-up and the Clarets were robbed of a first win in PL history after being three goals down.
Instead, things got even worse for Parker’s men, who found themselves behind in the 93rd minute when Damsgaard, who was the thorn in Burnley’s side all afternoon, popped up with what looked like almost certainly a late winner to keep Brentford in the European hunt.
But a crazy game had one final twist when substitute and Burnley legend Ashley Barnes netted what he thought was the eighth goal of the game to make the score 4-4, but a handball in the build-up ruled it out.
That was a huge reprieve to the Bees, who secured three massive points in their European race.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mikkel Damsgaard (Brentford)
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