In-form Ivan Toney struck again as Brentford earned a deserved win at Wolves.
A third goal in four games since the striker’s return from his ban for breaching betting regulations clinched a 2-0 victory at Molineux after Christian Norgaard’s first-half header.
The Bees earned just their third win in 12 Premier League games and gained revenge for Wolves’ 4-1 victory in December and dumping them out of the FA Cup last month.
Pedro Neto twice hit the post and Craig Dawson had a goal disallowed for offside but Wolves failed to score at Molineux in the league for the first time in a year.
Brentford climbed to 14th following a first away win since October, with Wolves 10th, after a victory which should have been greater.
The visitors missed several chances, starting after 11 minutes, when Sergio Reguilon seized on Jose Sa’s misplaced pass to leave Neal Maupay with just the goalkeeper to beat but Sa redeemed himself.
It was a poor miss from the striker and, from the corner, Sa denied Maupay again.
Wolves lost Matheus Cunha – hat-trick hero in the win at Chelsea last week – after just 19 minutes following an awkward fall and it nearly got worse for the hosts a minute later when the Bees blew a big chance.
Reguilon’s low cross caused problems and Rayan Ait-Nouri managed to stop Nathan Collins turning in at the far post, only for the ball to run for Mads Roerslev but the unmarked Dane blasted over.
It was a warning for Wolves and Brentford carried the greater threat with Maupay wasteful again after 31 minutes, shooting straight at Sa after working his way into the box.
The visitors continued to find openings but, ultimately, it was from a set-piece from where they found a 35th-minute opener.
From a Wolves perspective it was a mess as, from Reguilon’s corner, Norgaard shrugged off Dawson’s weak challenge to nod in with Sa nowhere.
For Brentford, it was a deserved lead but they needed Mark Flekken to keep it intact when he turned Neto’s header onto the post two minutes before the break.
The forward was denied by the woodwork again four minutes into the second half when his deflected strike hit the post and just a minute later Neto thought he had conjured a leveller.
Brentford were unable to clear his corner and, when it was returned to the Portugal star, his fine delivery was glanced in by Dawson, only for VAR to narrowly rule him offside.
Fuelled by a sense of injustice, Wolves improved but still struggled to create clear openings. Ait-Nouri nodded over and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde shot over but they never troubled Flekken.
The hosts began to wane and while Toney had been well marshalled he tested Sa from distance with 17 minutes left – before doubling the lead three minutes later.
He had ben quiet all afternoon but a fine cushioned finish from Vitaly Janelt’s cross, after Wolves lost possession, sealed the points.
KC, JC, St. George's all hit double figures in goal-filled Saturday in ISSA Manning Cup
Saturday’s action across six games in the ISSA Manning Cup was truly spectacular, producing 52 goals including a brutal 18-0 victory for Kingston College over Cumberland High at Stadium East to make up for their opening 2-2 draw with Penwood High on matchday one.
DeShawn Byfield and Kajay Fletcher split eight goals between them for the North Street school.
Demario Daley and Kamaul Patterson also had prolific days in front of goal, each securing hat-tricks as KC moved to the top of Zone C with four points and a goal difference of 18.
Jamaica College were also in a dominant mood on Saturday, blanking Ascot High 11-0 to move to w=two wins in as many games in Zone F.
Papine High were also victim of a ruthless beating on Saturday, 10-0 at the hand of St. George’s College at Papine.
STGC takes sole leadership of Zone G ahead of St. Catherine High opened their season with a 4-0 victory against Holy Trinity after being awarded the points for their first fixture versus Norman Manley.
Excelsior High defeated Bridgeport High 7-1 as they prepared for their encounter against Jamaica College in Zone F.
St. Andrew Technical High School held firm and showed resilience as they defeated Calabar High 1-0 at The Boys Town football field in Zone D.
Birmingham 3-1 Wrexham: Stansfield brace earns hosts Hollywood derby win
Jay Stansfield struck either side of half-time to give 10-man Birimingham a huge 3-1 victory over fellow promotion hopefuls Wrexham on Monday.
A game dubbed the 'Hollywood derby' was given a blockbuster start when Jack Marriot smashed home the opening goal for the visitors with just two minutes on the clock.
But Birmingham's £10million recruit Stansfield soon levelled the scores, being the first to react to Alfie May's effort that was parried into his path by Arthur Okonkwo.
The hosts then took hold of the encounter as May and Taylor Gardner-Hickman went close, but the game entered the break finely poised at St. Andrew's.
However, Blues' dominance prevailed seven minutes after the restart with Stansfield's header picking out the far corner following Alex Cochrane's pinpoint cross.
And the points were sealed just before the hour-mark in stunning fashion as Tomoki Iwata's strike from distance smashed in off the post, much to the delight of minority owner Tom Brady in the stands.
A fiesty conclusion to proceedings saw Chris Davies' side end the game with a man less after Krystian Bielik was shown a second yellow card for a late tackle on Andrew Cannon, but Birmingham were able to hold on for the win.
Data Debrief: The American dream
Much was made of Birmingham's approach to the transfer window after spending £25m in their attempts to return the Championship at the first time of asking, but their biggest investment proved his worth on Monday.
Stansfield notched his first two goals for the club since his permanent switch from Fulham, but the Blues striker also played a starring role in the encounter.
He registered an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.12 to Birmingham's 1.3 total, while he also produced more shots on target (three) and touches in the opposition box (six) than any other player.
Slot doubles down on selection policy ahead of Champions League opener
Arne Slot hit back at critics following his first defeat as Liverpool head coach but is relishing his first Champions League game in charge of the Reds against Milan.
After starting his Liverpool tenure with three wins from three, Slot's side were beaten 1-0 by Nottingham Forest last weekend upon their return from the international break.
It marked the Dutchman's first loss since replacing Jurgen Klopp, with Forest securing their first triumph at Anfield since 1969.
Slot named an unchanged team for the fourth consecutive game since taking over at Liverpool against Forest, with many questioning his decision to do so.
But speaking ahead of their encounter at the San Siro on Tuesday, Slot doubled down on his selection policy during his early tenure on Merseyside.
"If rotation would be the reason why you didn't win a game, then last Saturday probably wouldn't be the first game I lost in 2024," Slot said.
"It's too simple to put this loss on rotation, I think it was because too many players didn't reach their normal level. The playing style of the opponent made it really difficult.
"When you don't win, you try and look at as many possible reasons why, but I preferred to look back at what we did well and what we didn't do well.
"We could have done a lot better in things that were not related to rotation, but again it's not possible to say what would have happened if I did rotate.
"Now I can do something about rotation in the upcoming games but before the weekend they were with the national team.
"For me this loss didn't have anything to do with rotation, it was the opponent and too many players not bringing what they can bring."
Slot takes charges of his first game in the Champions League as Liverpool boss, but has struggled in the competition away from home.
The Dutchman has lost all three of his away games in the tournament, with each of those coming in the group stage with Feyenoord last season.
However, Slot's former side did have the second-best shot differential away from home in last season’s group stage (+19 – 48 for and 29 against), while only Man City (24) faced fewer shots on the road.
The fixture will also come on Slot's 46th birthday, with the Liverpool head coach hopeful of getting the perfect present from his players.
"I think it is the first time that my birthday is not so important tomorrow!', Slot said.
"It's a big game also for me, but it's a big game for us too because it's the first game [of the Champions League] and it's the next game and the next game is always the most important one, as you know.
"But because of the history that these two teams have and the venue where it's played in - it's one to look forward to."
Slot was also able to provide an update on Federico Chiesa, who is yet to feature since his switch from Juventus in the transfer window.
Chiesa offers Slot an experienced option against the Serie A side, having notched seven goal involvements (three goals and four assists) in the 13 games he has played against Milan.
But the Dutchman confirmed that any involvement for the Italy international will likely be from the bench.
"He is, for the first time, in our team selection," Slot said.
"And since I said it's the first time he's in our team selection it would be a big surprise for him and for everyone if he would start tomorrow.
"I don’t think you should expect that he starts but he can make a few minutes for the first time tomorrow if we need him. That is something we will see tomorrow.
"For the first time with us and don’t expect him to be there in the starting line-up because he has been with Juve training on his own for a long time.
"It is too early for him to play 90, but hopefully he can make his first minutes in the upcoming fixtures."
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