It was the Cherries who had the first sight on goal when Antoine Semenyo’s effort from just outside the left edge of the area was gathered by Caiomhin Kelleher. This would be as good as it got for the visitors in the first half, however, as Brentford soon took firm control.
After Keane Lewis-Potter had shot wide from just outside the area, the Bees took the lead with just seven minutes played, after a through ball from Igor Thiago played Schade in.
He shrugged off Bafode Diakite before slotting past Djordje Petrovic to open the scoring, registering his fourth goal of the season and first match opener since September’s draw against Chelsea.
The home side had further opportunities in quick succession through Thiago and Kristoffer Ajer, who saw a tame close-range effort gathered and a glancing header from a free-kick go just wide of the left post, respectively.
Schade saw two attempts from inside the area blocked and saved, but with Brentford well on top, they made their pressure tell for a second time six minutes before the break.
In rather fortuitous circumstances, Thiago saw his effort blocked, with the ball diverting off Petrovic and headed goalwards before Diakite’s attempted goal line clearance ricocheted off the goalkeeper and crossed the goal line to leave the Cherries with plenty of work to do.
Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola made three attack-minded changes during the break in an attempt to get back into the contest, with Evanilson, Justin Kluivert and David Brooks all coming on for the second half.
However, things went from bad to worse for the visitors just six minutes after the restart, when a quick counter-attack from Brentford ended with Schade sweeping home from inside the area, after Yegor Yarmolyuk had put the ball on a plate for the German.
Surprisingly though, the away side improved from there, as they saw the vast majority of the ball and looked more of a threat going forward.
And after Evanilson was denied by an excellent save from Kelleher, the Cherries gave themselves hope with a quarter of an hour remaining when Semenyo’s improvised backheeled effort from a matter of yards found the net.
It ultimately proved too little too late for Bournemouth though, who conceded a fourth in the dying moments when Schade secured the match ball by heading in from point-blank range.
Their winless run in the Premier League (PL) extended to nine matches.
They remain 15th and eight points above the relegation zone, while Brentford’s second successive PL victory lifts them three places to ninth, giving them plenty of optimism – and perhaps even European aspirations – going into 2026.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Kevin Schade (Brentford)
