Diego Costa ends his Wolves goal drought in victory against Brentford

Diego Costa’s first Premier League goal for six years helped fire Wolves closer to survival. Hwang Hee-chan netted a crucial second to put Wolves seven points clear of the relegation zone with seven games left.

The relegation battle, which has enveloped half the league, has started to provide more clarity and Wolves will fancy their chances. Brentford have no such worries but their European hopes continue to fade after a damaging defeat. They remain ninth but are four points behind Brighton having played two games more. A fine season is threatening to drift into mid-table comfort.

They rarely got going at Molineux and needed David Raya to superbly turn over Mario Lemina’s 20-yard effort. The goalkeeper was also equal to Matheus Cunha’s strike as Wolves, who had won four of their previous six league home games, looked for a quick advantage.

Brentford initially looked to frustrate and Ivan Toney was on the periphery until he had two glimpses of goal. Bryan Mbeumo’s cross found him and his shot deflected into Josh Dasilva’s path but the lob dropped over the bar. Two minutes later, Toney’s drive was blocked by a sprawling Max Kilman but Wolves remained on top and opened the scoring after 27 minutes.

It was all down to Costa’s driving run from midfield as he charged forward to pick out Toti on the left. The striker continued into the box to collect Toti’s cross, evade Christian Nørgaard and stab past Raya from 12 yards for his first goal in English football since the 2017 FA Cup final.

Brentford needed a response but it never came and Raya’s sharp stop denied Costa a second four minutes after the break. The goalkeeper, so reliable this season, had kept them in touching distance but survived a scare soon after when Toti went