Wolves 0 Brentford 2 – Report

The high press from the visitors caused Wolves problems from the off and forced them into mistakes and relinquishing possession.

Ivan Toney had two goals disallowed either side of his opener, which came from the penalty spot, before he then set up strike partner Bryan Mbeumo for a tap-in.

Wolves made attacking changes for the second half and saw most of the ball, but failed to make any of their half chances count as they looked off the pace compared to their previous performances.

In the end they were condemned to a 2-0 loss in front of an angry and frustrated Molineux.

Bruno Lage named an unchanged team for the fourth Premier League game in a row, lining up in a 3-4-3 formation.

Defenders Willy Boly and Yerson Mosquera were still waiting for some game time as the head coach stuck with his tried and tested defensive line.

Despite scoring on his debut from the bench last week, Hwang Hee-chan could not force himself into the starting XI and was again among the substitutes, with Lage likely keeping one eye on the upcoming Carabao Cup fixture on Wednesday.

Wolves also boasted an unchanged bench with no new injury concerns among the squad.

Thomas Frank also named an unchanged Brentford team following their late 1-0 loss to Brighton last week.

They started in a 3-5-2 formation with former Walsall defender Rico Henry in left-wing-back and strikers Toney and Mbeumo leading the line.

Wolves looked after possession well at the start of the game and looked to build up play through both flanks, while Francisco Trincao was often coming in-field to find space on the ball.

Brentford also looked dangerous when they got the ball, however, and Toney did have the ball in the net after a few minutes but Mbeumo was clearly offside in the build-up and the linesman flagged once the phase of play had ended.

The visitors then began to force Wolves back into their own half and pick passes as they searched for a chance on goal. At the same time, Wolves were struggling to play out from goalkeeper Jose Sa with Brentford’s high press forcing them into mistakes.

Shortly after the 25th minute Wolves were made to pay for allowing Brentford to dictate too much of the game as a handful of corners caused problems in the box. Eventually, Fernando Marcal dragged Toney to the floor and referee Darren England pointed to the spot. Striker Toney stepped up to score.

Minutes later Toney had the ball in the net again but it was given for offside. A VAR check found it was onside but that Toney had handled the ball, so the goal was disallowed - handing Wolves a lifeline after the visitors sprung a quick counter-attack.

Wolves almost fought back when a long shot from Adama Traore was deflected and smashed off the crossbar, but the hosts were quickly sucker-punched once more.

Max Kilman was unfortunate after tackling Toney but watching the ball bounce up to the striker. He then raced into the box and crossed low for Mbeumo who tapped home from close range and put Brentford 2-0 up.

The Wolves fans made their feelings known towards the end of the half as Wolves put in their worst 45 minutes under Lage and entered the break losing 2-0. The lack of intensity and organisation was in stark contrast to their other Premier League games so far this season.

As the teams emerged for the second half, Hwang replaced Romain Saiss meaning Wolves changed to a 4-4-2 formation.

Instantly from kick-off, however, Ruben Neves was caught in possession on the edge of his own box and Mbeumo should have scored, but he curled his effort high and wide.

Traore then tried to inject some pace into the game and drag Wolves back into it. He reached the byline and his lofted cross lobbed goalkeeper David Raya and almost creeped in at the back post. Raul Jimenez was also lurking to tap home but it was cleared by a defender in time.

The home crowd continued to roar their team on in the hope of finding a goal, before Hwang backheeled and nutmegged a defender in style, before having his cross cleared just ahead of Jimenez.

Wolves huffed and puffed but failed to find a way back into the game. They were given a man advantage after 65 minutes, however, when Shandon Baptiste was given a second yellow card for a foul on Trincao.

Hwang then had another opportunity in front of goal but the forward got the ball stuck in his feet and the chance was gone.

In one last throw of the dice, forward Daniel Podence was introduced for Marcal after 72 minutes, before Fabio Silva replaced Nelson Semedo after 82 minutes.

Jimenez thought he had found a goal when he met Traore’s header at the back post, but his powerful effort flew beyond the post.

Mbeumo then almost added insult to injury when he broke at pace and smashed his effort off the bar.

In the end Wolves failed to make their man advantage count as they failed to fashion any real chances on goal and ultimately fell to a 2-0 defeat.

Wolves: Sa, Kilman, Coady, Saiss (Hwang, 45), Semedo (Silva, 82), Neves, Moutinho, Marcal (Podence, 72), Trincao, Traore, Jimenez.

Subs not used: Ruddy, Hoever, Ait-Nouri, Boly, Mosquera, Dendoncker.

Brentford: Raya, Ajer, Jansson (Zanka, 82), Pinnock, Canos (Onyeka, 67), Baptiste, Norgaard, Janelt, Henry (Roerslev, 75), Mbeumo, Toney.

Subs not used: Fernandez, Thompson, Jensen, Forss, Wissa, Ghoddos.