Brighton and Hove Albion 2 Brentford 0. Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta. Premier League Summer Series.

Playing as a no.9 and looking lively (just as he did throughout pre-season, as well as during the opening weeks of the new season), Bees forward Yoane Wissa had a memorable game - and not just because of the incredible venue in Georgia and the 70,000 people in attendance.

Showing his usual intensity and willingness to chase down even the most absent of lost causes, the forward had multiple guilt-edged chances in the friendly, but just couldn’t find the back of the net. So, what went wrong?

Asked what he could have done better in that game, Wissa responds frankly: “Putting the ball in the back of the net! Honestly, I helped their goalkeeper have his best game!

“I think I needed more coolness. But, to be honest, I was happy because it was pre-season. You can't be the best goalscorer in pre-season, it doesn't count.

"If I missed like 100 or 200 chances that game, I would say, ‘Okay, maybe I need to play left-back!’, but no, no, no, it’s about keeping going and keeping confidence high.

“All the strikers have missed opportunities. No one scores 100 goals, even [Manchester City striker Erling] Haaland! He scored over 50 goals but he will have still missed maybe 20.

“But that’s okay in pre-season; in the season you have to score and you have to win.”

And, just as Wissa prophesies, that’s exactly what he has done in the opening two games of the campaign: score.

An opening-day strike against Tottenham in a 2-2 draw opened his account for the season, before the opening goal of the game (where he showed the coolness he admits he lacked in pre-season) against Fulham in a 3-0 west London derby win.

And, when you look at the 26-year-old’s record purely as a central striker - a no.9 - that’s what Wissa tends to do: score.

Analysing the numbers from games in the 2022/23 campaign and the opening three matches of this term, when Brentford have been without Ivan Toney, Wissa has scored six in eight Premier League games. The Bees have also been unbeaten in those matches (five wins, three draws).

Goals against Nottingham Forest, Liverpool, West Ham United, Fulham and two against Tottenham either side of the summer has shown that he is more than capable of finding the back of the net.

This has been essential, with Toney, Brentford’s top goalscorer over the last two seasons, netting 32 Premier League goals in that time, banned for eight months for breaching Football Association betting rules.

Many questioned how the Bees would cope without Toney, especially when it appeared that Wissa would be the one tasked with filling his team-mate’s size-10 boots while the England international is absent.

But the Bees man is well aware of the noise surrounding the striker situation - and he’s open enough to say he understands it.

And it’s something that has given the DR Congo international the bit between his teeth heading into the new campaign, which, along with a few words of wisdom from Toney himself and some DVDs of Premier League Years, has seen him start the season, like the Bees fans sing, on fire.

“It will be different because, obviously, last year, the main guy was Ivan. This year will be open for everyone,” Wissa admits.

“Of course, everyone will have Ivan in the back of their heads, so that's why it might be a bit challenging for every player, but especially me because I’m playing in his position. 

“But it's good to have this pressure to prove that I can handle it. I’ve shown people I can score goals already, but it’s all about the next game, the next game, the next game.

“Playing and training with Ivan has been good because, since I came to Brentford, I’ve watched him and I’ve seen lots of good things I can learn from him.”

When questioned if he’d asked Toney for any advice about playing as Brentford’s centre-forward in his absence, Wissa states: “Of course. We were talking about it last season because obviously he played most games in that position and he knows the team, he knows the players.

“When he was playing, I would look him at him, how he is playing, to understand how to get better as a proper no.9 at Brentford, because it's different to play in that position for Brentford compared to another team.

“So I learned a lot from him and, hopefully, I can show that on the pitch.

“We’ve changed a bit, a different type of game, because I'm not Ivan! I'm totally different to Ivan, totally different. I'm shorter than him, maybe slightly faster than him so, of course, I have my own style of play.

“The Premier League is always different but I do try to look at other strikers. I’ve watched clips of [Sergio] Aguero, [Luis] Suarez, even [former Brentford striker Ollie] Watkins.

“But, when I come on the pitch, I always do my thing, I always do what I know I can do.”

That confidence is important for a striker. And so is dealing with pressure.

You’d imagine that being asked to step in for someone who scored 20 Premier League goals last season would come with heaps of that, but Wissa’s composure off the pitch shows why he’s shown so much coolness on it.

Rightly, he illustrates that, in Toney’s absence, the west Londoners have shown that they are more than capable of scoring goals and beating any side in the division.

Wissa explains: "I don't feel pressure because Bryan [Mbeumo] can score goals, Kev [Schade] can score goals, Keane [Lewis-Potter] score goals, Josh [Dasilva] can score goals - it's a collective.

“I think this season it will be more open. There will be more players on maybe seven or eight goals. If we work hard together, there will be a lot more possibilities.  

“Now we can see how things are getting better and how people can enjoy this football: two goals against Tottenham, one goal against Man City, two goals against West Ham. Everyone is in good positions to score, it’s more open. 

“It’s all about looking at the guys in front of you or behind you. Of course it’s about spontaneity, football is all about creativity. You have to be clever.”

Even during the first three games of the season, it’s been clear to see that Wissa is adapting extraordinarily well to playing as a central striker - something he has only done in 54 of his 269 senior appearances.

He explains that it’s taken a lot of work over the summer - both physically and mentally - to make sure that he was ready to continue the good form that he showed as a no.9 at the end of last season.

He says: "I'm very, very much looking forward to playing through the middle. I feel good. I have more freedom when I play in that position, if I want to drop or go in behind. I feel like I receive the ball in better areas as well.

“As a striker, you’re also 2v1 against the centre-backs, compared to when you’re normally 1v1 on the wing against the right-back or left-back. The defenders will always be on me so I need to work differently in the gym.

“I have to work more specifically with Tom [Perryman, senior strength and conditioning coach] or with Kev [O’Connor, assistant first-team coach] and Justin [Cochrane, head of coaching] sometimes. 

“The centre-backs in the Premier League are not stupid so I need to find a way with the guys.

“We’re looking at videos every day, to know which positions I can be, where I can make the difference, where I can be dangerous.

“So, yes, it's tough because you have to be aware all the time because, if you are not strong enough, you can’t play through the middle. I’m getting used to it.

“You need to build your strength up physically, and mentally as well. When you play through the middle, sometimes there are some games where you don’t touch the ball at all, but you have to be ready to score when the ball comes to you.

“Now I know I can play as a no.9, I know I can score.”

As well as scoring, Wissa knows there’s more to playing as a centre-forward - especially in a Thomas Frank Brentford side.

Wissa is also aware that there is always room for improvement and, as he mentioned, he has worked with various different members of staff to ensure this.

The striker is dedicated to always watching and always listening, hoping to gain any insight that will help him become the best player he can be.

“Ivan is very good behind the ball, when you have to set the ball - he’s very, very good at that. I think that’s the main part I have to learn. I want to learn the link play from him as well, he's very good at that,” Wissa says.

“I have to improve my link play. I'm doing well, but there will be some games where I won't get the ball for maybe 15 minutes, so I need to help the team when the ball comes to me in those tight situations, when we need to keep the ball, protect it, and give it in a good place to a team-mate.

“I think that sort of thing is the main thing in Premier League for the forward players: keep the ball, keep the ball, keep the ball, every time.

“I have to work on that and also my pressing, Thomas will always talk to me about that, being sharp. That is the main focus he wants me to have: to press, to switch on, sometimes I’m a bit sleepy, sometimes the players have to remind me.

“That's why I'm always watching training, how we’re playing, I love to watch that, even when I'm not involved. Because, when the time comes, you have to be ready.”

He adds: "You have to respect what Thomas says and what the plan is but, sometimes, you have to just bring your own genius. Sometimes you need something like this [clicks] to go.

“I'm happy because I feel better about linking play with the guys now; with Mathi [Jensen], with Vita [Janelt], with Frank [Onyeka], with [Mikkel] Damsgaard, with Bryan.

“Although Bryan is slightly different because we’ve known each other a long time!

“Now he knows how I play, I know how he plays as well. He always keeps talking to me because, even though he’s younger than me, he's been here a while, so he knows the way we play.

“I've got a really good relationship with Mathi as well because we find each other, he knows me, I know him.

“I'm looking in training, I'm looking every day at every player, including the ones that I’m going to play closely with. I'm looking forward to playing with them and hopefully we can score a lot of goals and get a lot of assists.”

Despite receiving some criticism for his finishing during the Brighton friendly, Wissa is a firm believer in learning from those situations and using it to improve, which relates to one of Frank’s favourite phrases: “You either win or you learn.”

Wissa’s willingness to learn and improve is a common theme throughout our discussion and, if missing a few chances is what it takes for him to continue scoring goals, then so be it…

“Everyone wants to score but I don’t go crazy. If you want to score, you have to miss. If you don't get in the situations, you won't score,” the attacker says.

“That's why I focus on how I can do better next time. That's what I thought during pre-season - we have to build focus, the training - because we trained every day, more than the season. We had to be focused on every situation. 

“I will look back on certain situations with Kev [O’Connor] and we can see how I can do better next time. After that, hopefully, I’ll score!

“I was actually very pleased to miss in certain situations in pre-season because, without those situations, I might not score the next one.

“It's all about confidence and confidence is all about mentality.

“Yes, I can work hard and run fast. Yes, I can give you the ball. Yes, I can do what I can. But if I'm not mentally strong, I can’t help the team.”

It’s safe to say that Wissa has certainly been helping the team as a no.9, with his tireless work rate, impressive link-up play (which, as he confesses, he still thinks he can improve) and, of course, doing what some people doubted he could do on a regular basis: score.