Brentford 3-2 Nottingham Forest: Ivan Toney scores as the Bees win thriller

So the Big Dog has not lost his bite. Ivan Toney used that nickname to describe himself last week and he delivered in style by making the perfect return to Premier League action.

Despite eight months on the sidelines for 232 breaches of FA betting regulations, Toney played like he had never been away. He scored a comeback goal, bullied Nottingham Forest centre-back Andrew Omobamidele and was at the heart of every positive attacking move.

Toney is probably not quite as good as he thinks but who cares? Brentford’s self-belief had been eroded by five straight defeats that had taken them to the cusp of the relegation scrap. In that situation, a player who considers himself the Bees’ knees is exactly what you need. Brentford boss Thomas Frank played this one to perfection by making Toney captain and he responded spectacularly.

Frank’s men had to work hard for it, though, against a Forest side fearing a points deduction and missing numerous key men. They even took the lead through Danilo and after Toney and Ben Mee had put Brentford ahead, Chris Wood equalised. Three minutes later, though, Neal Maupay hit the winner and Toney’s welcome home party had its ideal ending.

Brentford and Toney had milked the attention during the week like Mick Jagger before one last comeback tour and neither were about to stop here. During his time in exile, Toney’s status has grown from ‘admired Premier League striker’ to ‘£100million guarantee of the title’, apparently without the man himself needing to kick a ball. Rarely has expectation on a returning player been so great.

Perhaps Diego Maradona or Eric Cantona had this level of anticipation when they came back from bans and while Toney certainly talks the talk, even he might concede he is not