Ivan Toney Shows High Foorball IQ with Cheeky Moment Before Scoring Free Kick

• Ivan Toney was back with a bang for Brentford
• The striker scored in his first game in 266 DAYS
• Cameras captured the cheeky adjustment Toney made to help him score

Ladies and gentlemen, Ivan Toney is back.

The Brentford striker needed just 19 minutes to announce his return to football as he found the net with a sublime free kick on Saturday, January 20.

Toney, 27, served an eight-month suspension after breaching betting rules, and finally made his football return against Nottingham Forest in the Gtech Community Stadium.

The visitors shocked Brentford in the third minute as Danilo opened the scoring, but The Bees hit back courtesy of their returning striker, Toney, who buried a free kick from the edge of the box.

Toney’s cheeky ways before scoring

Hawk-eyed fans spotted a piece of genius from Toney moments before he struck the free kick to equalize against Forest.

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As the Nottingham Forest players organised the wall, Toney noticed the ball was in a near-impossible position to score. He shifted the ball a foot to his right, giving himself a better angle to find the net.

This proved to be a stroke of brilliance from the striker, who curled the ball past the goalkeeper for the equalizer.

It was an emotional moment for Toney, who celebrated his first goal in eight months by running to the touchline to embrace the club’s staff and manager Thomas Frank.

As reported by The Mirror, he also held up a shirt that read "For you Uncle Brian” to pay tribute to a family member.

Interestingly, both of Toney's last two goals in the Premier League came from a free kick.

Speaking after the game, Toney explained the thinking behind his free-kick move.

"I practice them in training - everyone batters me when I put them in the stands in the car park, but I delivered, so that was good," he told Sky Sports.

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"I think you normally have a yard either way, and I just moved it and bent it around the corner."

How the rest of the game went

Brentford turned the game around through Ben Mee’s header, but Nuno Espirito Santo’s side restored parity thanks to Chris Wood’s flick in the 65th minute.

The two sides would stay level for only three minutes, however, as Neil Maupay scored a superb chest and volley strike into the corner.

It was an important win for Brentford, who leapfrogged Forest with the win to go six points clear of the drop zone.

Brentford announce Toney’s return WWE style

Sports Brief also highlighted the extravagant way Ivan Toney was announced back to football.

Brentford took the chance to go all out as they announced their key striker’s return in an Undertaker-themed occasion at the beginning of the Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest.