Brentford have earned success since returning to the English Premier League. After a decent finish to the 2021/22 season, the Bees are headed for a top-half finish this season. A few players have contributed to their success, and one of them is their Danish international player, Mathias Jensen. The 27-year-old was signed by Brentford in 2019. He was a part of their qualification campaign and is now taking his side to a top-half finish. Jensen has contributed to the goals by creating and scoring them. We look at some of the stats from his time in the English Premier League and how he is taking his side to a better finish than last season.
Brentford’s midfield engine
The 27-year-old midfielder has been an engine in Thomas Frank’s side. He has made 24 appearances for his team this season and has played 87% of Brentford’s available minutes in the league. Mathias Jensen has been a regular starter and has eight goal contributions to his name. These include four goals and four assists. His heatmap shows that the midfielder features as a left-sided midfielder in a midfield three for Brentford. The pizza map above shows that Jensen is highly ranked for contesting defensive duels and dribbles. His percentile rank in most of the departments is pretty low.
Last season, Jensen wasn’t a regular starter for Brentford. He played 31 matches and made 19 appearances. In these appearances, Mathias Jensen only provided an assist. He featured more on the right side.
The creative side
After providing just one assist last season, the Danish international has provided three assists. He averages 36.18 passes per 90 minutes this season and has an accuracy rate of 75.4%. The accuracy rate is a bit low for a central midfielder. These 36.18 passes include 6.82 passes to the final third and 2.98 to the opposition penalty box. His shot assists map shows that the player is active on corner duties and has an assist to his name.
Goal-scoring touch
After failing to score a goal in the 2021/22 season, the Danish player has four to his name this season. Mathias Jensen has taken 16 shots and six have been on target. He has found space inside the opposition penalty box and scored all the goals from inside it. Last season, Jensen failed to convert any chance. He got into decent positions but saw his shots saved by the opposition. Jensen has the second-highest goal contributions in the English Premier League for Brentford this season.
Winning back the ball
Mathias Jensen has been decent with recovering the ball for his side. The 27-year-old averages 6.99 recoveries per 90 minutes and 45.2% of these came inside the opposition half. These include 45 counter-pressing recoveries and six dangerous recoveries. All the dangerous recoveries came in the final third of the opposition. These recoveries lead to a shot and that can even lead to a goal.
Betting analysis
Mathias Jensen has become a key member of Brentford’s squad. His inclusion in the team provides strength and a bit of creative touch. This means that the betting odds for the Bees will lower against teams ranked below them when Jensen is playing. His exclusion from the team will lower the winning chances for Brentford.
The Danish midfielder has added a creative touch to his game. He is taking Brentford to new heights alongside Ivan Toney. Mathias Jensen will look to add more goals for his side and help them to finish in the top half.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine