Brentford 3-4 Nottingham Forest
- Published
Andreas Bouchalakis signed a three-year deal last month after a successful trial at the City Ground
Andreas Bouchalakis marked his league debut with two strikes at Brentford as Nottingham Forest got their first away win in the Championship since November.
John Egan headed the Bees in front early on before Bouchalakis levelled.
Daryl Murphy then put Forest ahead to give them the lead at half-time.
Bouchalakis got his second just after the break, Andreas Bjelland headed one back before Kieran Dowell got Forest's fourth and Neal Maupay claimed a late third goal for the Bees.
The second half ended almost as manically as the first as Bjelland's header began a spell of three goals in the final 11 minutes.
But it was the 24-year-old Greek midfielder, who joined from Olympiacos last month, who took home the plaudits with two stunning goals.
His first was a fine volley from the edge of the box into the bottom corner and the second a left-footed shot into the top corner from 25 yards out.
Both sides could have scored more goals as Florian Jozefzoon hit the post for Brentford while Lasse Vibe and Ollie Watkins went close for the home side, while Tendayi Darikwa and Barrie McKay had good chances for Forest.
Brentford manager Dean Smith:
"It was disappointing that we didn't take our chances and then left gaps as we chased the game, but there were a few who were a little below par.
"It will take time for some of the boys to settle so we need to be patient.
"If we play like that we will win more than we lose."
Nottingham Forest manager Mark Warburton:
"At 3-1 we had a number of breakaways with Daryl Murphy and Barrie McKay but we didn't finish them off.
"At 5-1 it's game over, but we weren't clinical enough and you can never ever bet against Brentford.
"Having said that it's nice to come back and see some very good people at a very good club which is a very tough place to come, and leave with the points."