Analysis: Collins impresses on 100th Premier League apperance

Nathan Collins racked up a century of Premier League appearances at the weekend, as Brentford beat Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park, and the Irish centre-back marked the milestone with an excellent display.

The rangy defender has been fantastic for the Bees thus far in 2024/25 and his numbers against the Eagles on Sunday showcased his wide-ranging skill set.

Voted as Sky Sports' Man of the Match, Collins celebrated his 100th top-flight appearance in style and, in the process, became one of only eight players born in 2001 or later to reach a century of Premier League games.

The only outfield player to complete more than 1000 accurate passes for the Bees this season, Collins' calm distribution is important to Thomas Frank's side and he finished with the highest pass completion rate (88 per cent) of any player on the pitch at Selhurst Park.

Collins has established himself as one of the top performers in the Premier League this season across a number of defensive stat categories, and his 11 clearances against the Eagles took him to 127 in total for Brentford this term - only Everton's James Tarkowski (132) and Nottingham Forest's Murillo (138) have made more.

Collins also logged one tackle as the last man (as did Keane Lewis-Potter) to help blunt a dangerous Palace attack led by the in-form Jean-Philippe Mateta, and the Irish defender's manager Frank - who was himself celebrating 300 games in charge of the Bees - afterwards stated that his side had "defended brilliantly throughout the game".

If you throw Collins' two key passes into the mix, the 23-year-old made a difference at both ends of the pitch in south London and his evolution since joining Brentford at the start of last season marks him out as one of the most improved defenders in the Premier League.

Elsewhere, Bryan Mbeumo kept his 100 per cent record for the Bees from the spot intact... but only just! The Cameroon international converted from 12 yards at the second time of asking on Sunday, his first effort against the post was disregarded due to Palace players encroaching into the box.

Yoane Wissa certainly had no doubt that Mbeumo would score his second attempt - the DR Congo striker ran off with arms aloft even before his strike partner had sent Dean Henderson the wrong way from the spot - and his confidence in his team-mate was not misplaced.

He may have ridden his luck against Palace but Mbeumo retains his perfect record from the spot in the top flight and, among those with perfect penalty records in the Premier League, only a trio of players have scored more spot-kicks than Mbeumo's nine: Chelsea's Cole Palmer (12/12), Yaya Toure (11/11) and Raúl Jiménez (10/10).

Mbeumo's 14th league strike of the season means he and Wissa have now plundered 25 Premier League goals between them this season, and the form of Kevin Schade shouldn't go unnoticed.

The 23-year-old was injured in the process of bravely heading home the Bees' second goal and their eventual match-winner, and the German international now has seven goals for Brentford this season; his minutes-per-goal ratio in the Premier League is currently an impressive 179 mpg.

Schade's header came courtesy of a cross from Brentford's midfield creator Mikkel Damsgaard, who remains joint-fourth in the top flight for assists this season - only Mo Salah (13), Bukayo Saka (9) and Antonee Robinson (9) have supplied more in the division.

All in all, the Palace victory marked an excellent afternoon for the Bees and they will hope to maintain their momentum against London rivals Tottenham and West Ham in their next two games.