Brentford continued their 2024/25 pre-season preparations in Portugal with a 1-1 draw against Benfica at Estádio da Luz on Thursday - and a sharp display from the Bees pleased head coach Thomas Frank.

Afterwards, Frank described the clash against the Eagles as a "great experience and a good test" against a "huge" club, and praised the cast of young Bees players who entered the fray in front of 40,000 fans.

Bryan Mbeumo capitalised on a misjudged back pass from Morata to open the scoring with five minutes on the clock; his left peg has been the source of 21 of his 22 Premier League goals to date for the Bees and it was no surprise that he chose his favoured foot to expertly clip a controlled finish past Anatoliy Trubin.

On a side note, it was perhaps also unsurprising that the Cameroon international hit the woodwork with a floating cross-shot after the break, given that he has been denied by the frame of the goal on 10 occasions in the Premier League over the past three seasons.

It was Kevin Schade's smart turn and searching through ball that instigated Brentford's early goal and the visitors' three-pronged attack of Mbeumo, Kevin Schade and Yoane Wissa looked razor sharp against the 38-time Portuguese champions - the Bees unfortunately shorn of new signing Igor Thiago due to a recent meniscus injury.

Benfica's summer signing Vangelis Pavlidis has made a blistering start since joining the Eagles from AZ Alkmaar and the Greece international levelled the score midway through the first half, as he converted a cross from ex-Manchester United academy product Álvaro Fernández at Hákon Valdimarsson's near post.

The goal marked Pavlidis' fourth in four pre-season games for his new side and he looks one to watch next season.

As Brentford defender Ethan Pinnock reflected afterwards, Benfica's high press posed a "challenge", as the Eagles ferociously sought to win the ball back as far up the pitch as possible.

However, ranked fifth in the Premier League last season for touches in their own penalty box, the Bees are a hard side to ruffle and they posed a consistent threat on the counter, despite playing much of the game in their own half.

That said, young Bees goalkeeper Matt Cox had to be on his mettle to make a series of sharp stops after his introduction at the break, the pick of the bunch coming on 56 minutes when he tipped Gianluca Prestianni's curling shot around the post.

Regular keeper Mark Flekken ranked second in the Premier League for saves from outside the box last term and the west Londoners largely limited Benfica to rushed attempts in the box or long-range strikes - such as Prestianni's - although another Bees sub Ji-soo Kim pulled off a stunning block on 69 minutes to deny Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes.

Ji-soo was one of seven Brentford teenagers to finish an entertaining tussle at the Luz and Frank afterwards touched upon the experience his young charges had gained, as well as the rewards in terms of pre-season fitness levels.

"The last half-hour, we played with a very young team - well done to them and to everyone who has been involved in their development. What a great experience for them today,” said the Bees boss.