Brentford: Keith Andrews lauds Igor Thiago as striker's brace sinks Manchester United | OneFootball

The Bees continue to outperform expectations in the Premier League

Keith Andrews has praised the impact of Brentford striker Igor Thiago after his brace sealed a 3-1 win over Manchester United.

The Brazilian endured an injury-hit debut campaign in west London, starting just once in the league after a meniscus injury and a joint infection, but he has started all six of Brentford’s league games under Andrews.

At the double: Igor Thiago

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“Obviously, everyone's aware he's had a difficult season last year with injuries. But he's such a powerful player,” Andrews continued.

“He was a big part of our dressing room last year with the type of character that he is. Very, very positive individual. And again, I'm touching it, just really, really selfless.

“Everybody might think the second goal isn't particularly (impressive), it's just a goal. He's the one (though) who gets the first contact. He has the desire to actually get in the area where he's going to score goals.

“I think it's a really good lesson for young centre-forwards to be in those positions where you're going to score and not just on the periphery. So, I was really happy for him.”

A bruising presence up front, Thiago’s all-round play left United’s defence helpless, and Andrews said he was impressed with the balance he’d brought to Brentford’s attack.

“He fights against some of the strongest centre-halves in the league, which he had to do today. He gives us that base to be able to bring players into play.

“Like I alluded to before, if teams press us effectively and aggressively, we know we can miss that, play to Thiago, and players can join in off the back of it, and with Dango (Ouattara) and Kev (Schade), we've got real pace to get in behind teams.”

After a summer of upheaval, in which they lost head coach Thomas Frank, captain Christian Norgaard, and the goals of Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo, many tipped Brentford for relegation.

Under Andrews, though, the Bees have taken points off Aston Villa, Chelsea, and United at home.

Andrews said he was proud of his players after a dominant performance.

“I've said this before, I think a lot will get made of me, obviously, in a new role, a lot of changes at the football club, but I think that the one thing I would take straight away from the game and the performance after last weekend in particular (is that) I'm just proud of what we've produced against a talented set of players.”