Wolves 0-2 Brentford: Ivan Toney stars for visitors with third goal in four games for Bees after Wolves’ fail to hit the target after Matheus Cunha comes off injured in first half

Brentford picked up a vital three points at Molineux today, with goals from Christian Norgaard and Ivan Toney lifting the Bees to 14th in the table ahead of a tough run of games for the south-west London side.

Thomas Frank’s side traveled to the Black Country today with just nine wins in their last 11 games and no clean sheet since October.

But with Hwang Hee-Chan’s expected return thwarted before kick-off and last weekend’s hat-trick hero Matheus Cunha sent off in the 20th minute after appearing to fall on his ankle, the home team lacked their usual threat of attack.

And credit must be given to Brentford, who put in a great defensive effort this afternoon. The Wolves, who dominated possession, were unable to break down the travellers’ 3-5-2 formation, which proved to be a tenacious defensive unit.

And it was on a set piece that gave Brentford the lead in the first half. Christian Norgaard, who managed to escape from his defender, finished off a corner taken by Sergio Reguilon from close range.

While pushing ahead in a tough spot would usually give the team some breathing room, Brentford are all too familiar with finding themselves in winning positions only to end up losing the game. They have dropped 26 points from that position this season, the most in the Premier League. Until today, they had actually ended up losing more games than winning them after moving on.

The Wolves came flying out of the traps in the second half, and with the crowd behind them, it seemed inevitable that they would get back in front. But a VAR decision ruled what would have been a rare Craig Dawson goal offside just two minutes later, and from then on the home team looked destined for frustration.

Ivan Toney was quiet for much of the game, but when the ball came to him in the 77th minute after a passage of play that began with a poor pass from Wolves goalkeeper Sa, the Brentford star scored.

The visitors managed to hold out for the rest of the match and keep a clean sheet for the first time in 12 Premier League matches.

Next game is Liverpool at home and then Manchester City away, two games in which Thomas Frank will be happier now that he is in a safer position away from the relegation zone.