Wolves beat Brentford in a dramatic game at the Brentford Community Stadium which saw lengthy delays, a drone suspending play and Thomas Frank sent off after the final whistle.
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After Brentford lost two players to concussions early on as Rico Henry and Mathias Jensen clashed heads horribly, the game was then delayed due to a drone hovering over the stadium.
When play resumed it was tight and tense, then Joao Moutinho prodded home a beauty to give Wolves the lead in a second half which was delayed further due to technical issues with the officials audio equipment.
Ivan Toney briefly equalized with a beauty of his own but then Ruben Neves won it with a fine strike to make it 2-1. Add in a Wolves red card being overturned by the referee checking the monitor due to VAR, Frank being sent off for angry words after full time and it was chaos.
Wolves’ win moves them on to 34 points for the season, while Brentford remain on 24.
Brentford vs Wolves final score, stats
Brentford 1-2 Wolves
Goals scored: Brentford – Toney 71′; Wolves – Moutinho 48′, Neves 78′
Shots: Brentford 11, Wolves 7
Shots on target: Brentford 1, Wolves 2
Possession: Brentford 49, Wolves 51
Three things we learned Brentford vs Wolves
1. Series of delays impacts game: The horrible head collision between Jensen and Henry saw Brentford use two concussion substitutes early on, and that meant the rhythm of the game was already impacted. Then came a very weird situation as a ‘unofficial drone’ was in the air above the Brentford Community Stadium. That meant the players were taken off the pitch due to Premier League safety protocols and another lengthy delay. There were 19 minutes added time, and the clock was at 71 minutes when the first half came to a close. Add in referee Peter Bankes needing his microphone batteries changed at the start of the second half and the delays continued. That led to a chippy, tense game as players, fans and staff all seemed frustrated. So many strange events back-to-back may never happen in the same PL game again.
2. Wolves keep surging: That is now three wins in a row for Wolves and they are well and truly in the European hunt under Bruno Lage with four wins from their last five, as they’re unbeaten in that run against plenty of the big boys. They’re probably in the Champions League hunt. They are just four points out of the top four and they’re winning these games without several key men. Raul Jimenez, Romain Saiss and Hwang-hee Chan are all out but Wolves keep on surging and they have so much belief in the way they play. They’re a horrible team to play against and they’re committed to defending. In many ways they have nothing to lose as they’re already exceeding expectations this season. That is dangerous for the other teams in around the top six, or even top four.
3. Bees unravelling as bad luck piles up: Frank being sent off after the final whistle summed up a torrid few weeks for Brentford. He was angry in midweek as they lost to Manchester United despite dominating the first half and that is now four defeats on the spin for the Bees. They’ve been hit hard by injuries and bad luck, as their incredible start to life in the Premier League is starting to unravel. As long as they aren’t relegated then this season will have been a huge success but it may feel like an opportunity missed as a top 10 finish looked very achievable before the festive period.
Man of the Match: Joao Moutinho – Quality finish for the first goal, got an assist on the winner and dug deep in midfield. The 35-year-old just keeps on going. Remarkable quality.
Bright start impacted by head injuries, drone
After a promising start from Brentford, they were hit hard as Mathias Jensen and Rico Henry collided after Jose Sa smashed a long ball forward.
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Jensen and Henry both suffered nasty cuts and they were both substituted as per the concussion protocols, as Mads Roerslev and Shandon Baptiste came on and Brentford were still allowed to make three more additional normal substitutes.
The first half was then delayed further as an ‘unofficial drone’ flew over the Brentford Community Stadium and the officials took players off for safety reasons.
After a long delay, the game resumed and there were 19 minutes of stoppage time in the first half due to both of the lengthy stoppages.
More delays, then Moutinho magic
After yet another delay to the start of the second half as referee Peter Bankes had to get his microphone pack changed, Wolves took the lead
Moutinho played a lovely one-two and prodded the ball home superbly from the edge of the box to put Wolves ahead.
Toti Gomes was then sent off for Wolves, but VAR was used and the card was correctly downgraded to a yellow. From that free kick for Toti’s foul, Brentford equalized.
A free kick to the back post found Toney and he slammed home a volley to make it 1-1.
Wolves win it late on, then more drama
Just when it looked like Brentford may go on to win the game, Wolves regained control and won it themselves.
Moutinho set up Neves on the edge of the box and he curled home a brilliant low finish to send the away fans wild.
Late on Adama Traore scored on the break but his fine finish was ruled out for offside, then after the final whistle an angry Thomas Frank was shown a red card after having strong words with the Wolves players and the officials.
