Wolves and Bees draw 1-1 at Wolverhampton

Matchweek: 38

Date: Sunday, 25 May 2025

Kickoff time: 16:00

Weather: Mix of cloud and sunshine

May 25

Kickoff 16:00

Windy 16°

Bryan Mbeumo scored his 20th goal of the season in the 20th minute to put the Bees ahead. The Wolves created chances throughout the game and in the 70th minute put an unstoppable shot into the top right corner of the net to earn a 1-1 draw. The result was enough to earn the Bees a top 10 finish in the Premier League for the 2nd time in their history.

Let's check the pre-game Correlation FC predictions:

Prediction #1

Brentford's average shot distance will be shorter than the Wolves average shot distance.

Correct. Wolves shots were from an average of 20.7 yards while the Bees averaged a cozy 14.4 yards.

Prediction #2

The Bees will be awarded a penalty AND Bryan Mbeumo will score it.

Ummm, no. No close calls either.

Prediction #3

The Bees and Wolves will both outscore their xG.

No. Neither team managed to do it.

Prediction #4

Brentford will score a goal from a rebound against Wolves.

Yes. Mbeumo's goal happened moments after Wissa's shot attempt was blocked in the box.

Prediction #5

The Bees will win more aerial duels than the Wolves.

Wrong. The Wolves won 19 out of 32 duels, a 59% win rate.

Prediction #6

Brentford will win the game.

Nope. They held the lead for 50 minutes, but a draw is definitely not a win.

Trends that continued

Another 90 for Collins = 3,420

Nathan Collins put in another solid shift for Brentford, playing the full 90 minutes again. That brings his total to 3,420 minutes for the season. Collins was the only outfield player in the league to play every minute. Mbeumo had the second highest total for an outfield player. He subbed off near full time on three occasions and officially ended the year with 6 minutes off the pitch. Both made massive contributions to the club this season.

Right footed Bryan, 3 in a row

After years with virtually no right-footed goals for Brentford, Mbeumo has now scored 3 out of his last 4 goals with his previously well rested right foot.

20 goal scorer every other PL season

As previously mentioned, Mbeumo's goal total reached 20 for this season. Yoane Wissa came very close to hitting 20 as well, but unfortunately didn't make it past 19. Ivan Toney also reached 20 goals in the 2023-23 season. So, Brentford had a player hit 20 goals in their 2nd and 4th seasons in the Premier League. In the 1st and 3rd? 12 goals was the max (first for Toney, then for Wissa). With any luck, Mbeumo, Wissa, Kevin Schade or Thiago will break that pattern next season with more than 12 goals.

Unselfish Norgaard

For the second game in a row, captain Christian Norgaard was unselfish in front of the net. Against Wolves, he passed to Mbeumo, allowing him to shoot on a virtually open net for his 20th. Last week against Wolves, he didn't seem to mind when Wissa toed in his header that was already on its way across the line. It's nice to see the captain supporting his teammates and helping them toward their goals.

What was different

Healthiest squad of the season

On the final game of the season, the Bees fielded their strongest squad. with only 3 players missing due to injury (Josh Dasilva, Vitaly Janelt and Fabio Carvalho). Surely the most excited player on the bench was Aaron Hickey, who was last in the Bees lineup in October 2023. If the Bees are able to stay healthy next season, Thomas Frank will have some difficult squad selection and playing time issues to manage.

Correlation FC