Brentford vs Wolverhampton Wanderers. Premier League.
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Report and free match highlights as Brentford and Wolves draw 1-1 in a result that suits neither team; Ben Mee put the Bees in front after half-time with a scissor kick; Ruben Neves swept home from the edge of the area two minutes later; Diego Costa was sent off for a late headbutt
Saturday 29 October 2022 20:25, UK
Diego Costa was sent off for a headbutt late on in Wolves 1-1 draw at Brentford, which leaves the visitors in the relegation zone.
After a dire and stoppage-plagued first half, the west London encounter suddenly came into life after the interval as Ben Mee's scissor-kick put Brentford ahead in the 50th minute - but that lead lasted just two minutes.
Wolves captain Ruben Neves swept home from the edge of the area to equalise for the visitors, but instead of a late winner, the drama fell at Costa's door for disciplinary reasons as his late off-the-ball headbutt on Mee was picked up by VAR.
Referee Bobby Madley, officiating his first Premier League game in four years after being sacked for his own disciplinary issues in 2018, brandished the red card after checking the monitor. Wolves interim head coach Steve Davis revealed after the game Costa apologised for the red card and hinted he could be fined.
When asked if Costa will face a financial punishment, Davis added: "I imagine so, yeah - that's in place.
"He's apologised. When emotions are high it is difficult to discuss things, but we'll have a conversation with him next week.
"We know what he is, he plays on the edge and there's that player who is bubbling away. It's a shame."
Before the first half was disrupted by injuries, there was a nice end-to-end feel to the game as both sides - who have been goal-shy in recent weeks - searched for an early opener.
Mathias Jensen gave the ball away on the edge of the Brentford box to Neves, who fed Daniel Podence in the area but his shot was straight at David Raya when he should have done better.
Wolves, who went into the game as the lowest scorers in the top four English divisions, went close again shortly afterwards as Costa got on the end of Podence's cross at the near post but flashed a header wide.
Brentford upped their tempo and passed up two quick-fire opportunities for Toney and Josh Dasilva. Toney dribbled an effort well wide of goal after Bryan Mbeumo's cutback, before Dasilva curled a long-range effort from 25 yards just wide of Jose Sa's far post.
But a promising start to the game slowly ebbed away as injuries hit both teams. First, Jensen was replaced by Mikkel Damsgaard after a repeated problem on his leg. Wolves brought on Joao Moutinho for Matheus Nunes, who picked up a shoulder problem after colliding with Yoane.
The newly-introduced Moutinho saw a deflected effort fly wide - as did Nathan Collins and Podence - but a first half ended with both sides failing to register a shot on target.
That ended in spectacular fashion after the break as Brentford began the half on the front foot - and got their just rewards.
After Mbeumo's header was well-saved by Sa, a short corner fell to the Brentford attacker who found Mee in the penalty box.
The centre-back produced a sensational acrobatic effort that crashed past Sa to send the home fans into glee.
But those cheers soon turned sour as Adama Traore and Nelson Semedo combined on the right to feed Neves on the edge of the area, who swept past Raya in what is becoming trademark fashion from distance to silence the home supporters.
The visitors suddenly got on top after starting the second period poorly. Podence forced Raya into a good save before Costa passed up a good opportunity on the break by firing straight at the Brentford goalkeeper.
A topsy-turvy momentum then swung back to Brentford as Yoane Wissa headed wide when found by Mbeumo in a good area, before Nathan Collins' last-ditch block denied Dasilva from the edge of the area.
In the final 10 minutes, the impressive Keane Lewis-Potter came off the bench to feed Toney in the box from a corner but he could not turn his effort goalwards.
Instead of a winner, stoppage time was dominated by Costa's first Premier League red card for an off-the-ball headbutt on Mee, which VAR assisted in awarding.
With Wolves still in the bottom three and Brentford five points above them, the shared points don't suit either team as a tight bottom half of the table shows no signs of separating itself.
Costa's red card means that Wolves have no recognised striker once again, after bringing in the 34-year-old as a free agent following Sasa Kalajdzic's long-term knee injury occurred on his debut for the club.
A three-game ban for the striker due to violent conduct would rule Costa out of Wolves' remaining games before the World Cup, meaning it will be Boxing Day until the forward is eligible to play again after suspension.
Temporary Wolves boss Davis revealed the red card was a shame given how well the veteran forward has done to get back up to speed.
"We will have to look at [replacing him]," said Davis. "It opens up doors at other players who have been waiting for opportunities and for us to play in a different way.
"He's getting better. It's taken him a long time and hasn't played for a while. His fitness and match sharpness, technique and things that need to go with the game. He's worked hard to monitor his week. It looks different to everyone else's. He led the line really well.
At the other end of the duel was Brentford's Mee, who unlike Costa managed to get on the scoresheet in west London, and Bees manager Thomas Frank compared the defender's goal to Cristiano Ronaldo.
"He just said he has probably played his best football in his life," Frank said of Mee after the game. "I haven't seen his whole career but he looks like he has found his second youth.
"He was a giant in there, even though he's not the biggest centre-back. He wins all the duels, positions himself well and gets his head on everything.
"It [the goal] looks like Ronaldo back in his day. He deserved to get three points today, but unfortunately we didn't."
With Callum Wilson scoring twice for Newcastle against Aston Villa at the same time, the pressure was back on Brentford's Ivan Toney to see whether he will keep his place in Gareth Southgate's Three Lions squad for the World Cup.
Unfortunately for the striker, it was not his afternoon, as he missed several opportunities to get on the scoresheet in a frustrating afternoon. Toney got the ball caught under his feet and failed to find the target in a couple of good opportunities in the first-half, and missed a better opportunity after the break to get a winner.
Brentford manager Frank revealed after the game that Toney has been ill this week and was not able to train on Friday. The Danish coach said Toney showed great mentality to get through 90 minutes, but it may have impacted his game.
"He's been sick, both Thursday and Friday"," said Frank. "He did well and that shows his mentality that he managed to get on the pitch and come through 90 minutes.
"Unfortunately I think it did impact his game a little bit. The ball got caught under him two or three times. It's easy to link it with that, you never know. Not everyone is top for 90 minutes but it's a huge mentality for Ivan.
"He had the flu and a fever. He was on the training pitch but didn't play. He went home straight away on Thursday and didn't do anything on Friday as he was at home."
Unfortunately for Toney, he picked up a fifth yellow card of the season for barging Jose Sa over when the Wolves goalkeeper had the ball in his hands - meaning he now has a one-game suspension for the Bees' trip to Nottingham Forest next week. It was a caution that Frank branded "soft".
"When you get five yellows, you think one of them can be avoided," said Frank. "I think the one today is a soft one if you ask me. For me, the only thing I'm asking is consistency."
Brentford's next game is a trip to newly-promoted Nottingham Forest next Saturday, three days before hosting Gillingham in the third round of the Carabao Cup. The Bees end their pre-World Cup Premier League rota with a trip to champions Manchester City on November 12.
Wolves have three home matches before the World Cup suspends the season, with Steve Davis' side hosting Brighton, Leeds in the Carabao Cup and Arsenal, the latter being live on Sky Sports on November 12 - with kick-off at 7.45pm.
