Toney strolled up, almost like he was taking a penalty, and curled a low shot around the wall and into the net at the near post. Turner didn’t move.
Brentford v Nottingham Forest: Premier League – live
Guess who’s back?
18 min Mangala is booked for fouling Damsgaard just outside the penalty area, slightly to the right of centre. Ivan Toney is over the ball…
15 min Brentford break from the Forest corner with Toney on the ball. He tries to play a one-two on the halfway line and is nobbled by Omobamiedele; he doesn’t look impressed.

14 min Brentford are having more of the ball now, though Forest look dangerous every time they go forward. After good hold-up play from Wood, who has started well, Montiel wins a corner on the right.
13 min Yates’ long-range shot is blocked, with the ball ricocheting to Hudson-Odoi in the area. His shot is also blocked, crucially by Collins.
11 min Mee has a long-range blooter blocked at source.
10 min The game is taking place mainly in the Brentford half. Toney has had one or two touches but nothing significant, yet.
7 min Yates shoots wide from 25 yards. I fancied Brentford’s chances when I saw the teams but right now Forest are much the better side.
6 min And here is the aforementioned beauty from Danilo.
"That has burst the Brentford bubble" 🫧
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 20, 2024
A beauty from Danilo 👏 pic.twitter.com/F46KdHcqJ2
5 min A long throw from Jensen is headed to the edge of the area. Janelt volleys into orbit.
I was just typing that Toney had caught Yates with his studs – accidentally I think – when Danilo scored a brilliant goal. A flustered clearance from Janelt went straight up in the air on the edge of his own area. Mee headed it away but only as far as Danilo, who controlled the ball on his left thigh and slashed a beautiful volley past Flekken with his right foot.
Forest take the lead out of nothing!


1 min Peep peep! Forest kick off from right to left as we watch.
Ivan Toney looks calm and focussed as he leads the Brentford team onto the field. He’s waited a helluva long time for this moment. So have the Brentford fans, who emit the lustiest of roars when Toney’s name is read out.
“Who writes your scripts?”
This is such a charming film, and it’s so great that it’s up for a blomin Bafta. Congratulations to everyone involved, not least the remarkable Allan Cockram.
🏆 Amazing to see 'Mighty Penguins' on @BAFTA's longlist for British Short Film.
— Athletic Club (@Athletic_en) January 6, 2024
In October, the Penguins brought their documentary to Bilbao for our #ThinkingFootballFilmFestival and played a match against #AthleticGenuine at Lezama.
👏 Congratulations @BrentfordPFC,… https://t.co/7hy5VzO7pK pic.twitter.com/MXoUhOrZE6
And if you want to read about the Mighty Penguins, this interview is a perfect place to start.
When Nottingham Forest spent £150m in one transfer window in the summer of 2022, it was supposed to be a sign of ambition.
Brentford make three changes from their last league game, a defeat at Crystal Palace on 30 December. Ben Mee, Mikkel Damsgaard and yer man replace Zanka, Christian Norgaard (injured) and Saman Ghoddos (at the Asian Cup). That means Keane Lewis-Potter will move to left wing-back, though the loan signing Sergio Reguilon is on the bench.
Anthony Elanga and Morgan Gibbs-White are both injured, which is a big blow to Nottingham Forest. They make four changes, all enforced, from their win over Manchester United on the same day.
The summer signing Andrew Omobamidele finally makes his Premier League debut for Forest, replacing Moussa Niakhate at centre-back. Nuno Tavares comes in for Ola Aina, who like Niakhate is on international duty, at left-back. Gibbs-White and Elanga are replaced by Orel Mangala and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Brentford (possible 3-5-2) Flekken; Collins, Mee, Pinnock; Roerslev, Janelt, Jensen, Damsgaard, Lewis-Potter; Maupay, Toney.
Substitutes: Strakosha, Reguilon, Zanka, Ajer, Dasilva, Peart-Harris, Baptiste, Yarmoliuk, Olakigbe.
Nottingham Forest (possible 4-3-3) Turner; Montiel, Omobamidele, Murillo, Tavares; Yates, Mangala, Danilo; Dominguez, Wood, Hudson-Odoi.
Substitutes: Vlachodimos, Worrall, Williams, Toffolo, McKenna, Aguilera, McDonnell, Esapa Osong, Gardner.
Referee Darren England.
Ivan Toney captains Brentford on his return. Twenty-one other fellas will also start the game.
🐝 Your Bees to take on Forest #BRENFO | #BrentfordFC pic.twitter.com/sJ8kwb4sIn
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) January 20, 2024
Your Reds to take on @BrentfordFC 📋
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) January 20, 2024
Ivan Toney has been a very naughty boy; now we’re going to find out if he’s the messiah. His return from an eight-month ban comes not a moment too soon for Brentford, who are ankle deep in the relegation quicksand and in urgent need of both his ability and personality.
Brentford were doing okay without Toney, but the loss of his strike partner Bryan Mbeumo through injury made Premier League life unmanageable. Brentford have lost all five league games since Mbeumo’s injury; he won’t be back until mid-March, so it’s Toney’s turn to be the club’s chief pointswinner.
Toney has talked a magnificent game ahead of his return. In his interviews he has sounded like a boxer before a big fight, calmly promising what he intends to do to anyone who gets in his way. Toney’s fighting talk, stirring even for the neutral, has added a layer of anticipation to what was already the biggest comeback of its type in England since Eric Cantona turned up his collar on 1 October 1995.
Forest are the team who have drawn the short straw, although given their recent form they’re unlikely to fear Brentford. Were it not for FA charges hanging over them, they’d be entirely confident of avoiding relegation. Now they are in the peculiar position of not knowing how many points they need to stay up. So they might as well get as many as they can.
Kick off 5.30pm.
He’s back. pic.twitter.com/4Jeg4Vu8DX
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) January 20, 2024