Bournemouth 0-2 Brentford: Highlights, man of the match as Carvalho, Thiago shine in Wissa's absence

Brentford secured a sixth consecutive EFL Cup third-round appearance with a 2-0 victory over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

With the Premier League taking priority, it was unsurprising to see Andoni Iraola and Keith Andrews make wholesale changes to their respective sides for the EFL Cup clash.

Fabio Carvalho, who was among the Brentford changes, opened the scoring just past the half-hour mark, as he slotted home from Kristoffer Ajer's clever knockdown.

The tie remained finely poised until Igor Thiago came off the bench to take the game away from Bournemouth with his second goal of the season.

Iraola summoned the likes of Evanilson and David Brooks from the bench, but his side were unable to find a way back into the contest as the Brentford defence stood strong to keep successive clean sheets.

In fact, Bournemouth's frustration boiled over when Julian Araujo was sent off in the closing stages after picking up two yellow cards.

While Bournemouth suffered back-to-back second-round exits, Andrews celebrated consecutive victories following Saturday's Premier League win over Aston Villa.

SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT

The EFL Cup is not a priority for either club, but Bournemouth and Brentford would have both been keen to avoid an early exit.

Both sides were disjointed at times, which was a result of the number of changes that both managers made to their respective teams.

However, Brentford were the better side and ultimately deserved the win, especially as they were more clinical than their opponents in the final third.

There have been doubts about Brentford appointing an inexperienced manager, but consecutive victories will only boost the team's confidence in their coach, who has shown great character to bounce back from a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest on the opening day of the season.

Andrews will also be pleased that his team are seemingly blocking out the speculation surrounding Yoane Wissa's future, with the striker absent once again as he continues to push for a move to Newcastle United.

The Brentford boss expects the striker to stay at the club, but he faces a nervy wait until the transfer window closes on Monday.

BOURNEMOUTH VS. BRENTFORD HIGHLIGHTS

34th min: Bournemouth 0-1 Brentford (Fabio Carvalho)

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— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) August 26, 2025

Brentford find the breakthrough. Rico Henry plays a diagonal ball for Ajer to attack. Carvalho latches onto the defender's knockdown to steer the ball past Djordje Petrovic.

65th min: Bournemouth 0-2 Brentford (Igor Thiago)

Love it, Igor ❤️ pic.twitter.com/blrnh8zLHt
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) August 26, 2025

The Bees have the cushion of a second. Frank Onyeka dispossesses Alex Scott, before feeding the ball to Carvalho. Onyeka fails to control the pass back from the former Liverpool attacker, but it falls kindly for Thiago to smash home from close range.

91st min: Julian Araujo (Bournemouth) red card

Araujo compounds Bournemouth's disappointing evening. The right-back is shown a second yellow card after making a dangerous tackle on Thiago.

MAN OF THE MATCH - FABIO CARVALHO

Carvalho was one of Brentford's main attacking outlets and ultimately played a key role in Brentford's progression to the next round.

The 22-year-old showed great composure to open the scoring in the first period, before he was involved in the creation of Thiago's second-half effort.

BOURNEMOUTH VS. BRENTFORD MATCH STATS

Possession: Bournemouth 65%-35% Brentford

Shots: Bournemouth 18-6 Brentford

Shots on target: Bournemouth 4-2 Brentford

Corners: Bournemouth 4-3 Brentford

Fouls: Bournemouth 13-14 Brentford

WHAT NEXT?

After progressing to the EFL Cup third round, Brentford will now turn their focus to Saturday's Premier League meeting with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

As for Bournemouth, they will look to produce a response when they make the trip to North London for a tricky game against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.