Brentford’s ambitions of playing European football next season were dashed on the final day of the Premier League campaign, despite holding Wolves to a 1-1 draw at Molineux.
Thomas Frank’s men needed not only a victory but also favourable results elsewhere to break into the top eight.
However, Brighton’s emphatic 4-1 win over Europa League champions Tottenham made that dream unattainable, even before full-time in their own match.
The Bees struck first, capitalising on a defensive lapse after 20 minutes. Christian Norgaard pounced on the error and teed up Bryan Mbeumo, who slotted home for his 20th league goal of the season.
But the hosts hit back with 15 minutes left on the clock. Jorgen Strand Larsen expertly brought down a long ball and laid it off to Marshall Munetsi, who smashed in a thunderous volley to equalise and bring Wolves’ three-game losing streak to an end.
Brentford ultimately dropped to 10th in the table, overtaken by Bournemouth following their victory over Leicester City.
Meanwhile, Vitor Pereira’s Wolves concluded the season in 16th, slipping a couple of spots in the final standings.
With his 20th goal of the campaign, Mbeumo became the first Cameroonian to reach that milestone in the Premier League. He’s also only the second Brentford player to do so, following in the footsteps of Ivan Toney two seasons ago.
It also marks just the second time in Premier League history that two African players have netted 20 or more goals in the same season – Mbeumo and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah – a feat last achieved in 2018-19 by Salah, Sadio Mane, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Wolves, on the other hand, had to wait until the 75th minute to find the net, despite Matheus Cunha’s relentless attempts.
He registered eight shots without scoring, the highest tally by any player in a Premier League game this season without a goal.
Historically, the final day continues to be unkind to Wolves. They have now won just one of their 11 final-day Premier League fixtures.
With a win rate of only 9%, they join West Brom, Sunderland, and Hull City as the only clubs with sub-10% success on the final day, among teams with at least three seasons in the top flight.