Neal Maupay makes the right impression on his manager

Posted Sunday, December 03, 2023 by PA

Thomas Frank said he is not surprised with Neal Maupay after the French striker scored for Brentford during their 3-1 home win over Luton in the Premier League.

Maupay scored his second goal of the season since his loan move from Everton in the summer when he finished from close range past Hatters goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski to open the scoring in the 49th minute.

Ben Mee and Shandon Baptiste also netted for the home side in the second half, either side of Jacob Brown’s 56th-minute reply for Luton.

Afterwards, Bees boss Frank lauded the influence of striker Maupay, who has returned to Gtech Community Stadium after leaving the club in 2019 for Brighton.

“For me I’m not surprised (about the goal),” Frank said. “We were sure that he’ll do well for us because we know him well and he can score goals.

“He’s had to get back into it and in the last weeks he’s played really good. I’m pleased it’s paying off for him.

“He scores goals. That’s a big thing. He’s a good pressing player and link up player when he drops down and finds a solution. As a mentality character he’s good for the group and drives the group.”

Frank’s injury issues continued, with Kristoffer Ajer replaced by Saman Ghoddos in the starting line-up after the central defender suffered a foot injury in the warm-up.

The Danish manager credited the players who stepped up after Brentford bounced back from last week’s late 1-0 home loss to Arsenal.

He continued: “I’m very happy with them. Vitaly Janelt is one of our flexible players (starting at left-back) but Saman stepped in and looked like he’d played at right-back for years.

“It’s incredible that we can turn around with the amount of injuries we have. We have four full-backs out. Big credit to the players.”

Luton manager Rob Edwards was disappointed with how his side started the second half.

He explained: “I felt we gave some early Christmas presents away in the second half and I feel they didn’t have to work too hard for their goals. They had control and they deserved the win.

“We had gone away from giving gifts away – and we had done that in the first couple games of the season.”