Brentford beat Wolves 5-3 as Hwang Hee-chan’s struggles continue

Brentford's Nathan Collins, third from right, celebrates during the Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Gtech Community Stadium in London on Saturday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

 
Kim Ji-soo’s Brentford defeated Hwang Hee-chan’s Wolverhampton Wanderers 5-3 in the Premier League on Saturday. 
 
The fixture at Gtech Community Stadium in London proved a goal fest but not a Korean derby as Kim failed to make his Premier League debut. Hwang, meanwhile, played 33 minutes but failed to record his first goal contribution of the 2024-25 season.  

 

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Nathan Collins opened the scoring for Brentford in the second minute, with Matheus Cunha equalizing two minutes later.  
 
Brentford went ahead again thanks to a penalty from Bryan Mbeumo in the 20th minute, but Jorgen Strand Larsen equalized in the 26th minute. The London side pulled clear before half-time though with Christian Norgaard and Ethan Pinnock each scoring to end the first half 4-2.
 
Fabio Carvalho scored Brentford's fifth goal in the 90th minute, followed by a goal from Wolves’ Rayan Ait-Nouri, ending the match 5-3. 
 
Hwang came on as a substitute in the second half but failed to make a serious impact, ending the game without a goal or assist for the sixth time in the league this season.
 
Wolves' top scorer last season, with 12 goals in 29 league fixtures, has endured a poor start to the 2024-25 campaign, failing to score or assist in eight matches across all competitions so far.
 
Despite his unimpressive stats, Hwang still received a national team call-up for Korea’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers, with the Premier League pausing for nearly two weeks for the FIFA international break. Korea will face Jordan on Thursday and Iraq on Oct. 15 in the third round of qualifiers.
 
As for defender Kim, he made it to the bench but didn’t make his Premier League debut. Promoted to Brentford’s senior team in June, he has only played one game in the Carabao Cup against Leyton Orient last month, where he made his club debut.
 
Kim was not called up for the national team and has yet to earn his first senior cap.  

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]