Wolves flying high as Rúben Neves seals win at Brentford after long drone delay

If you like delays then this match had them all. First there was a serious clash of heads that caused two Brentford players to be substituted with suspected concussions, before play was stopped again during the first half for more than 15 minutes after officials spotted an “unofficial drone” circling overhead.

One day after Watford’s game with Norwich was delayed by floodlight problems, a police helicopter patrolled the skies during the second half to ensure the drone did not return as Rúben Neves sealed a fourth victory in five league games for Bruno Lage’s rapidly improving side.

There were certainly no such incidents the last time Brentford hosted Wolves in the top flight more than 70 years ago, with that campaign ending in relegation for the home side despite a 4-1 victory in 1947 at Griffin Park after a 2-1 win at Molineux. Sitting comfortably in midtable and seemingly within reach of safety in their first experience of the Premier League, Thomas Frank’s side must have seen this as a great opportunity to take another giant step towards their ultimate goal but they have now suffered four straight defeats.

The fact that their opponents were without Raúl Jimenez after the Mexico striker picked up a suspected calf injury in training will only have increased the sense of what might have been. Wolves, who brought on the potentially Tottenham-bound Adama Traoré for the last 15 minutes as they pushed for victory, have emerged as surprise contenders for the top six in recent weeks thanks to some impressive performances. They came into the game having only conceded one goal in five matches since losing to Manchester City last month.

But they were immediately forced on to the back foot by the twisting runs of Bryan Mbeumo,