Kevin Schade kept Brentford in the hunt for a European finish, securing a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Saturday.

Schade netted the winner in the 18th minute in brilliant fashion, guiding a header up and over Alex Palmer from Bryan Mbeumo's pinpoint delivery.

Mbeumo then saw a low shot blocked on the stroke of half-time, with Mikel Damsgaard unable to profit on the follow-up, sending it just wide.

Brentford had penalty appeals turned down on either side of half-time as Ipswich struggled to go up against the visitors' strength, with the on-field decision upheld following a VAR review on both occasions.

The Tractor Boys ramped up the pressure as they pushed for an equaliser in the dying minutes, but to no avail.

George Hirst dragged a good chance wide from distance before Mark Flekken tipped Omari Hutchinson's drilled shot onto the post. The goalkeeper then made a superb save to keep out Cameron Burgess' first-time close-range volley in stoppage time.

The result takes Thomas Frank's side up to eighth in the table on 55 points, above Brighton on goal difference, and two ahead of Bournemouth, who face Aston Villa later on Saturday. Ipswich, meanwhile, remain in 18th place.

Data debrief: Brentford's attackers in red-hot form

After scoring a brace in Brentford's thrilling 4-3 win over Manchester United, Schade continued his fine form with a brilliant header to give his side the lead. The German now has 11 goals this season, with four in his last three games.

His attacking partners, Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, have also had outstanding campaigns, netting 18 goals each. Thanks to the trio, Brentford are one of just three clubs across Europe's top five leagues to have three players scoring 10 or more goals, joining Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Mbeumo, who supplied the assist for Schade's header, picked up his 25th goal involvement in the Premier League this season (18 goals, seven assists). It is the most by a Brentford player in a single campaign in the competition, overtaking Ivan Toney's 24 in 2022-23 (20 goals, four assists).

The Bees have now won four consecutive Premier League games for the first time since 1939, netting 11 goals in that run. They ended Saturday's affair with an xG of 1.21, comfortably outpacing Ipswich's 0.75 xG.