It was a day of farewells at Molineux where Bryan Mbeumo and Marshall Munetsi exchanged goals in an entertaining draw. Wolves supporters got to watch Matheus Cunha for potentially one final time in gold before his likely summer departure, whileBrentfordsaid goodbye to the chances of European football.
It was not a dead rubber at kick-off but considering the permutations it would take for Brentford to qualify for Europe, it was the equivalent of someone giving CPR to a bouncy ball. Regardless, the two teams seemed intent on making the end-of-season party an entertaining one.
Rayan Aït-Nouri lost his sense of direction and turned towards his own goal after receiving a pass. He was intercepted just outside the box, leaving Brentford with a numerical advantage in the final third and Mbeumo eventually tapped in for his 20th goal of the season.
If this was to be Cunha’s final game, he did make a clear effort to produce something special for Wolves to remember him by but the closest he came to glory was firing two shots straight at Mark Flekken. There were plenty of trademark tricks and flicks on show as Brentford were constantly tested by the Brazilian’s quick feet, whichmay call Old Trafford homenext season. The Wolves fans serenaded Cunha by questioning who Manchester United are, adding in an expletive for good measure.
There was no ill-feeling; Cunha hugged teammates and staff on the pitch at full time, before being granted a standing ovation, as was Nélson Semedo who is out of contract. “If they decide for another way, I wish them the best and I will keep them in my heart,” said Vítor Pereira, who gave an emotional speech in the changing room afterwards. “I will thank them, I am very grateful for what they did in the last months.”
Wolves fans were just pleased by the unpressurised nature of the day having long since secured safety thanks to the intervention of Pereira,who joined in Decemberwith the team in a relegation battle they looked likely to lose.
Munetsi was one of Pereira’s revitalising signings in January, joining from Reims as a defensive midfielder but given a more attacking role by his head coach. Just as proceedings had hit a lull, he woke everyone up by finishing off a route one move that began with Emmanuel Agbadou punting a goal-kick for Jørgen Strand Larsen to flick on to the rampaging Munetsi. He thundered the bouncing ball beyond Flekken before he could realise it had been hit to offer the last roar of the campaign.
Wolves dominated possession, especially after the break but Brentford always looked dangerous on the break with Mbeumo and YoaneWissa repeatedly combining. The Bees will be braced for bids for the duo, who scored 39Premier Leaguegoals between them, although any potential purchasers might want to do a double deal because they are a dynamic pairing who clearly love playing together.
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“I definitely can understand the interest in him, or there should be interest, or at least there’s a lot of rumours,” Thomas Frank said of Mbeumo. “He is a good age, scored 20 goals, worked hard, top personality, but I’d like to keep him. But we are a selling club, so if someone comes in with the right price, then …”
Pereira can enjoy looking down on Tottenham – and three others – over the summer, while Brentford finished 10th to further show the progress made. The two clubs have stability but face a key window if they are to keep progressing at the same rate.