When Norwich’s Brandon Williams was hauled to the ground while in a shooting position against Brentford on Saturday, his first instinct was to confront the opponent who had fouled him.
Williams reacted angrily but his hostility quickly disappeared when he realised his adversary was Christian Eriksen, the Denmark midfielder starting a match for the first time since suffering cardiac arrest during Euro 2020.
Instead, in a touching moment that came in the heat of an important fixture in the fight for Premier League survival, Williams opted to hug the former Tottenham player as they both lay on the ground.
“It was brilliant!” former Manchester City defender Micah Richards told BBC Radio 5 Live. “Williams’ reaction was fantastic – it’s Eriksen, I can’t be mad at Eriksen!”
Eriksen’s luck was short lived though as referee Anthony Taylor, who was in charge of the game against Finland in June when the Dane collapsed, showed him a yellow card.
But it was still a day Eriksen won’t forget in a hurry, as the Bees went on to win 3-1 and move six points clear of the Premier League relegation zone.
Eriksen’s ‘extra magic’ will help Brentford’s survival bid
Eriksen was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) and after joining Brentford on a six-month contract in January he made his first appearance last weekend.
The 30-year-old was impressive throughout Saturday’s win over Norwich and topped Brentford’s stats on all Opta’s distribution metrics.
“We knew that we needed to build Christian right – it will take a few more games before he reaches the top standards he can provide,” Brentford boss Thomas Frank told Sky Sports.
“You need to be out there, go the 90 and feel fatigued.
“You can see he just has that extra magic that no doubt will help us.”
The win ended a run of nine games without success in all competitions for Brentford, who are playing in the Premier League for the first time.
Eriksen sent in the corner that led to the first goal, and had the most touches (67), attempted the most passes (46) and completed the most passes (38) of any Brentford player.
Speaking to BBC Match of the Day, Frank, who managed Eriksen as a Denmark youth player, added: “It was a top delivery for the first goal. There were top passes when he tried to find players in behind.
“You can see there’s more to come from him which is a positive. The ability he gives us is a big plus.”
Eriksen was rated 9.25 and given player of the match by BBC users as he started a Premier League game for the first time since 11 January 2020, when he featured for Tottenham at Liverpool.
“I’m very happy, I’m pleased to be back playing 90 minutes. It’s been a long time but it went very well,” Eriksen told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“Thomas [Frank] asked me this morning if I felt OK to play 90 minutes and I said for me that’s no problem.
“It gets easier every day and playing a full game obviously helps.
“Personally, for me, it has been about getting back to full fitness and being able to play football at the top level again. Then let’s see where that takes me.
“Obviously, I am here to help Brentford to stay up and get my own football career back on track.
“I wouldn’t say it was a new chapter – it is just my life continuing. Thank you to all the people and family I have around me who supported me – I am pleased to be here.”
