Analysis: The numbers behind Brentford's first home clean sheet of the season | OneFootball

Brentford drew with Chelsea on Sunday to record their first home clean sheet of the season, which was well-earned after a solid defensive display.

The Bees could well have won the game, having had the higher number of clear-cut chances over their opponents. Mikkel Damsgaard was unlucky to lose his footing at a crucial moment in the first half, while Sepp van den Berg's header into the ground from a set-piece bounced just too early to find the net.

Van den Berg was a part of the Brentford defence that managed to restrict Chelsea, even when Enzo Maresca sent on the attacking reinforcements after starting a somewhat rotated line-up. Indeed, the Dutch defender made seven ball recoveries for his side, with forward Kevin Schade the only Bees player to make more (eight).

Keane Lewis-Potter particularly stood out at left-back, with the 24-year-old making five combined tackles and interceptions - the joint-most of any player on the pitch alongside Christian Nørgaard, Mikkel Damsgaard, and Chelsea's Malo Gusto. Meanwhile, Nathan Collins was as reliable as ever, winning both of his aerial duels, making three blocks, and four clearances in total.

The last line of defence was, of course, Mark Flekken, who played his part by keeping out all five of Chelsea's shots on target. The big Dutchman's saves to deny Reece James' header and Pedro Neto's effort from distance were especially impressive. Those extra five saves put Flekken's total up to 127 in the Premier League, by far the highest number - a stat that also extends to Europe's top five leagues.

Flekken also has a save percentage of 74.1 this season, with only four English top-flight goalkeepers ahead of him (Matz Sels, Łukasz Fabiański, David Raya and, yesterday's opponent, Robert Sánchez).

The former Freiburg man also had plenty of the ball on Sunday, taking 59 touches, with Collins the only Brentford player to have more (61). Flekken made 45 passes in total (the most of any on his team) - an unsurprising stat considering no other goalkeeper has made as many passes (1,256) as Flekken in the league this year.

Flekken ranks third in the league for the highest number of 'launched' passes (202 in total), which are passes longer than 40 yards, with Brentford trusting their goalkeeper's distribution and their own players' ability to win any aerial duels that may result from that kind of pass. Only three players have a better success rate for launched passes (Jordan Pickford, Emiliano Martínez and Ederson) than Flekken, who is at 37.8 per cent.

That's not to say Flekken only kicks the ball long. 33.7 per cent of the goalkeeper's passes are those long, launched balls which puts him in the middle of the Premier League goalkeeper pack. In comparison, Forest's Sels has the highest rate of 71.6 per cent launched passes, while Tottenham Hotspur's Guglielmo Vicario is on the other end of the scale with just 8.6 per cent - a clear reflection of each goalkeeper's instructions.

But players in his position are often the happiest when they keep clean sheets, and Flekken will be hoping to secure another in what will be a tough game against Arsenal on Saturday.

There may be more shots to face, but the Dutch goalkeeper will be ready to protect his net once again.