Brentford v MK Dons player ratings

The Dean Smith era at Brentford began with a 2-0 win over MK Dons on Saturday. Here’s how we rated the Bees players in the victory at Griffin Park.

David Button: 7
Before this game he had made more saves than any other Championship keeper, but was barely troubled by a fairly toothless Dons side. His distribution was strong, too.

Nico Yennaris: 8
MK Dons started well and Yennaris was outpaced a couple of times by the tricky Josh Murphy. But he learned from that and put in an excellent defensive display, as well as choosing when to support the attack.

Jack O’Connell: 7
Another solid display from the centre-back, coming through an early rough patch which included a yellow card. A fine replacement for the suspended Harlee Dean.

James Tarkowski: 8
Looked to be losing the battle with Ben Bowditch in the opening stages but went on to put in a strong performance with some important challenges.

Jake Bidwell: 9
Produced the moment of the match with his outstanding cross for Lasse Vibe’s goal and was always an asset going forward, even having a pop at an elusive goal late on. But his primary job is defending and the skipper was excellent at the back.

Toumani Diagouraga: 8
His influence in the middle is such that when he plays well, Brentford play well. And he was among the best performers against the Dons, always comfortable on the ball and looking to start attacking moves.

Konstantin Kerschbaumer: 7
Made his first start since Marinus Dijkhuizen was sacked in late September and was unlucky not to get a goal when his shot was cleared off the line by Anthony Kay.

Sergi Canos: 8
Called into the side shortly before kick-off after Alan McCormack pulled up in the warm-up with a groin injury. The Spaniard was always busy, had experienced left-back Dean Lewington on toast and should have scored in the first half only to smack the bar. Limped out of the game midway through the second half though.

Alan Judge: 8
Played quite close to striker Vibe at times and was involved in both goals. He started the attack that led to the first and then scored the second with an innocuous-looking shot that slipped unnoticed through a crowd of players. Should have scored in the first half with a one-on-one and hit the bar with a free-kick.

Ryan Woods: 7
Showed quick feet on occasion to drift past Dons defenders but his two shots were well off target. Replaced with 10 minutes left by Jota.

Lasse Vibe: 8
Sometimes criticised for his goal return but produced a brilliant header to open the scoring and was unlucky to see a shot on the turn cannon back off the crossbar. His hard work and running through the channels saw head coach Smith describe him as “the Championship’s Jamie Vardy”.

Sam Saunders: 7
Came on midway through the second half for Canos, playing his most minutes in a Bees shirt since February. Looked fit and sharp in his cameo appearance.