LONDON (Reuters) -Brentford scored an early goal for the fourth straight Premier League game as they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 5-3 on Saturday in an enthralling end-to-end encounter that had six goals scored in a chaotic first half.
Brentford took the lead three times in the first half as both teams suffered from defensive lapses around their box, with six different goal scorers netting in the first 45 minutes.
As Wolves attempted a comeback in the second half but got nowhere, the home crowd gave Wolves manager Gary O’Neil a hard time as chants of “You’re getting sacked in the morning” echoed around the Community Stadium.
Wolves are bottom of the league standings with one point and the worst goal difference (-12) while Brentford’s victory moved them up to ninth with 10 points.
Having scored in the first minute in their last three games, Brentford netted in the second minute this time when Mikkel Damsgaard went down the right and crossed the ball for Nathan Collins to score with an uncontested header 76 seconds in.
“We’ve been practising winning the coin toss all week and we lost it. That’s why it took us so long (to score),” Brentford boss Thomas Frank said jokingly on BBC.
Wolves equalised quickly in the fourth minute when Nelson Semedo slipped in behind Brentford’s defence and cut the ball back for Matheus Cunha who fired home from near the penalty spot.
However, Wolves shot themselves in the foot when Mario Lemina dragged Collins down in the box on a set-piece. The referee awarded a penalty after a second look at the replay and Bryan Mbeumo stepped up to score his sixth of the season.
But once again, Brentford’s lead did not last long when a botched clearance allowed Rayan Ait-Nouri to put a cross in and Jorgen Larsen stuck his leg out to stab the ball past Mark Flekken in goal.
Wolves then gave the ball away near their box and Brentford took the lead for the third time in the 28th minute when some quick passing saw Vitaly Janelt set up Christian Norgaard, who took a touch and fired low into the far bottom corner.
TWO-GOAL CUSHION
Brentford gave themselves a two-goal cushion going into the break when they scored from another set-piece where Ethan Pinnock directed a header to the far post to make it 4-2.
Both teams improved defensively in the second half where the goalkeepers came to their rescue, with Wolves’ Sam Johnstone ensuring they did not suffer a heavier defeat after he made seven saves in the game.
But he could do nothing in the 90th minute when he parried a shot straight into the path of substitute Fabio Carvalho, who tapped in for his first league goal in a Brentford shirt.
Ait-Nouri grabbed another for Wolves when he dribbled into the box and unleashed a venomous shot that went through Flekken’s legs but it was too little, too late as Brentford sealed victory to pile more pressure on O’Neil.
“It was disastrous, a terrible performance. We didn’t play anything like us, not in shape, so open, so a lot to consider,” O’Neil said.
“Off the back of the other performances where I thought we were close, this shows me that we’re not where I thought we were and things need to change.”
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru;Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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