Brentford capitalised on a dreadful defensive performance from Wolves to claim their first Premier League victory since August and leave Gary O’Neil’s side still searching for their first top-flight win of the season.
Six of the eight goals at the Gtech Community Stadium were scored in the first half, with Brentford taking an early lead for the fourth game in succession when Nathan Collins nodded in Mikkel Damsgaard’s cross with only 75 seconds on the clock.
In an astonishing opening, the hosts were pegged back just over two minutes later when Matheus Cunha steered Nelson Semedo’s cutback past Mark Flekken, but the Bees were given a chance to restore their advantage from the penalty spot following Mario Lemina’s foul on Collins.
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Up stepped Bryan Mbeumo, who sent Sam Johnstone the wrong way for his sixth league goal of the campaign.
Yet again, Wolves responded swiftly and equalised for a second time when Jorgen Strand Larsen turned in Rayan Ait-Nouri’s low delivery.
But the visitors were level for less than 90 seconds as Christian Norgaard collected Vitaly Janelt’s pass before rifling the ball into the far corner.
And Brentford made it four before the break when Ethan Pinnock – left completely unmarked from Damsgaard’s corner – sent a well-placed header inside the far post.
The hosts continued to create the better openings after the restart, and Johnstone did well to deny Pinnock from another corner before thwarting Kevin Schade in a one-against-one.
Second-half substitute Fabio Carvalho scored a fifth for Brentford after Johnstone had parried Keane Lewis-Potter’s shot into his path, before Ait-Nouri rifled home a late consolation for the visitors.
The defeat leaves Wolves rooted to the foot of the table with only one point from their first seven matches, while Brentford climb into the top half.
Worst Wolves start in 60 years
An inability to turn encouraging performances into tangible results had been the story of Wolves’ season prior to Saturday’s contest, but O’Neil – who defended his team after last weekend’s defeat at home to Liverpool – can have no complaints with the outcome in west London.
The visitors responded well to Brentford’s first two goals – replying first through Cunha, then Strand Larsen – but their efforts were undermined by some truly woeful defending for the Bees’ subsequent two efforts.
Lemina conceded possession far too easily in the build-up to Norgaard’s strike, while nobody in a Wolves shirt picked up Pinnock from Damsgaard’s corner in first-half stoppage time, giving the defender time and space to pick his spot.
The visitors could easily have found themselves further behind at the interval, with goalkeeper Johnstone keeping out Schade’s close-range header moments after Brentford’s third.
The half-time whistle was met by a chorus of boos from Wolves’ travelling supporters, who have now seen their team concede 21 goals in just seven games this season – two more than relegated Sheffield United had at this stage last term.
Johnstone denied Pinnock again in the second half as Brentford continued to carve out the better openings, and Schade should have got his name on the scoresheet when he shot straight at the Wolves keeper prior to Carvalho’s late finish.
The last time Wolves picked up only one point from their opening seven games of a league season was 60 years ago, when they ended up finishing second bottom in the old First Division.
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Despite scoring inside the opening 40 seconds on each occasion, Brentford had been left with only one point to show for their efforts against Manchester City, Tottenham and West Ham.
Not only did the Bees manage to kick on from their fast start against Wolves, they also reacted well to the visitors’ two first-half efforts and could have gone into half-time with an even healthier lead.
They looked like scoring from every attack before the break, with Lewis-Potter nodding straight at Johnstone moments after Collins’ opener and Schade somehow failing to beat the Wolves keeper with a header from point-blank range later in the half.
The second half – unsurprisingly perhaps – was a more low-key affair, but Thomas Frank’s team continued to commit bodies forward in search of further goals.
They had to wait until the 90th minute to add to their advantage, Carvalho netting his first Premier League goal for the club from close range.
Ait-Nouri’s stoppage-time strike put a more respectable sheen on the scoreline from a Wolves perspective, but this was a fine afternoon’s work for Frank and his players.
