Brutal defeat - front of face scratched (7)
I believe the answer is:
bestial
'brutal' is the definition.
(like a brute or beast)
'defeat front of face scratched' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'defeat' could be 'best' (besting is a kind of defeating) and 'best' is found in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
(Other definitions for bestial that I've seen before include "for animals?" , "Tables I create, being brutal or cruel" , "Brutish or cruel, hardly human" , "Animal-like" , "Like an animal; depraved" .)