Wolverhampton Wanderers produced a rampant display spearheaded by a Hwang Hee-chan brace as they secured an emphatic 4-1 victory against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Hwang scored twice in the first half, before going off injured, and goals from Mario Lemina and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde gave Wolves their biggest away win in the Premier League.
Yoane Wissa netted the hosts’ solitary goal as they slumped to a fourth straight defeat.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 |
Crystal Palace
CRY
|
38 | -1 | 49 |
| 11 |
Brighton
BHA
|
38 | -7 | 48 |
| 12 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
38 | -13 | 48 |
| 13 |
Fulham
FUL
|
38 | -6 | 47 |
| 14 |
Wolves
WOL
|
38 | -15 | 46 |
| 15 |
Everton
EVE
|
38 | -11 | 40 |
How the match unfolded
Thomas Frank made three changes from Brentford’s home defeat to Aston Villa 10 days ago, with Nathan Collins replacing Mathias Jorgensen at the back, Yehor Yarmoliuk coming in for the suspended Ben Mee and Neal Maupay returning, with Mikkel Damsgaard dropping to the bench.
Wolves made one change from Sunday’s 2-1 win against Chelsea, with Santiago Bueno coming in for Craig Dawson. Gary O’Neil’s side were also boosted by the return of Pedro Neto, who was among the substitutes.
Despite a bright start from Brentford, it was Wolves who struck first as Lemina met a deep Pablo Sarabia cross to power in a header at the back post in the 13th minute.
The visitors’ one-goal advantage quickly became two 12 seconds from kick-off when Hwang beat Mark Flekken to an underhit backpass from ex-Wolves player Collins to roll the ball into an empty net.
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In an incredible opening to the match Brentford responded instantly as a clever flick from Maupay found Wissa, who stabbed a first-time shot past Jose Sa for his first league goal since October.
The Bees came close to grabbing an equaliser just moments later when Keane Lewis-Potter whipped in a superb cross to the back post, but Vitaly Janelt’s headed straight into the arms of Sa.
Just as the match was starting to settle, Wolves found a third. The visitors capitalised on a disorganised Brentford defence and picked out Hwang, who flicked the ball brilliantly over Ethan Pinnock before firing a low shot past Flekken. This was to be Hwang’s final act of the evening, as he limped off soon after.
After the match, O'Neil allayed fears over Hwang's injury, saying the South Korean should be fit to play at the Asian Cup.
With seconds remaining of an enthralling first half, Maupay and Wissa combined again, but the latter could only slice his shot wide.
Brentford started the second half with intent and came close to halving the deficit when Maupay slid a pass in behind the Wolves defence to Wissa, whose cutback found Lewis-Potter, but the young Englishman’s effort was tame.
The hosts had two chances to score again, with Lewis-Potter at the centre of both attacks, first clipping a cute cross to the back post that narrowly evaded Mads Roerslev, before darting to the byline and pulling a low cross back into a dangerous area.
Then Wolves came close, with Matheus Cunha latching on to a through-ball from Rayan Ait-Nouri, before sliding an angled shot that bounced off the far post.
Their fourth goal eventually came a few minutes later, Collins again at fault as another loose pass put Wolves through on goal. It was Cunha once more leading the charge, but this time the Brazilian laid off a pass to his left to allow Bellegarde to finish.
Brentford remain 14th on 19 points while Wolves stay 11th, level with Chelsea and AFC Bournemouth on 25 points.
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Key facts
The first three goals in this game came within three minutes and three seconds, the shortest span for three goals in a Premier League game since Bournemouth v Watford on 2 January, 2019 (two minutes, 34 seconds).
Brentford conceded at least four goals in a Premier League game for just a fourth time and for the first time on home soil.
Wolves scored four goals in an away Premier League game for just the second time, also doing so against Swansea in April 2012 (4-4).
Wissa made his 82nd consecutive appearance in the Premier League, the longest current run in the competition and the longest-ever by a player for Brentford.
Hwang has scored 13 Premier League goals in 2023 for Wolves, with only Raúl Jiménez (15 in 2019) and Steven Fletcher (13 in 2011) managing more for the club in a calendar year.
