Said Benrahma was on the lips of Brentford fans after the forward recorded his third hat-trick of the campaign in his club’s 3-0 victory over Wigan Athletic in the Championship.
The Algeria winger, who has been increasingly linked with a move to Chelsea, troubled the Latics throughout as Brentford boosted their promotion hopes.
Benrahma took his tally to 14 goals for the season.
Going into the game, Wigan had not lost in nine and had won six of their past seven, but the hosts – who have not dropped points since the end of February – dominated from the start.
Naismith’s clearing header from Watkins’ cross led to the opening goal as Emiliano Marcondes headed the ball back into the path of Benrahma, who calmly volleyed into the bottom corner.
Brentford’s passing game started to come to the fore and Naismith was again on hand to clear off the line after Dalsgaard’s cross was deflected goalwards shortly before Benrahma’s speculative ball early in the second period floated over goalkeeper David Marshall and into the net.
Watkins then had two more close-range efforts cleared off the line, but the Bees only had to wait five more minutes for Benrahma to add the third as he shot low into the bottom corner after good work down the right flank from Josh Dasilva and Christian Norgaard.
The win – Brentford’s fifth in succession – sees Thomas Frank’s side stay third, but they closed the gap to second-placed West Bromwich Albion to two points ahead of the Baggies’ match with Hull City on Sunday.
Asked about Benrahma’s form, he said: “He’s absolutely hit the ground running after this coronavirus break, but also added extra aspects to his game in terms of arriving into the box – that’s an area we’ve been working a lot on.
“I also need to praise him for his work ethic, I thought he worked extremely hard and that’s always a demand I have for all my players in general and also the front three and they’re doing a top job there.
“He’s been good and he now needs to keep it up – I would prefer three goals per match, that would make it a little bit easier.”
Photo Credit: Twitter @ BrentfordFC