Goals from Mario Lemina, Hwang Hee-chan (2) and substitute Jeanricner Bellegarde consigned Brentford to a 4-1 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

A breathless first half at Gtech Community Stadium saw three goals scored in the space of three minutes. Lemina rose highest to head home Pablo Sarabia's cross, before Hwang added a second moments after the kick-off after intercepting Nathan Collins’ backpass.

Brentford responded two minutes later through Yoane Wissa, but Hwang scored his second goal – and the visitors’ third – on 28 minutes.

Wolves wrapped up the points with 11 minutes left on the clock as Cunha intercepted Collins’ pass to Vitaly Janelt and squared for Bellegarde, who rolled beyond Flekken.

Brentford trail by two after frantic first half

Thomas Frank made three changes to the side that lost 2-1 to Aston Villa 10 days earlier, as Nathan Collins, Yehor Yarmoliuk and Neal Maupay replaced Zanka, Ben Mee (suspended) and Mikkel Damsgaard, as the Bees reverted to a 4-3-3 system.

As for Wolves, Gary O'Neil made just one enforced change to the team that beat Chelsea 2-1 on Christmas Eve, as Santiago Bueno came in for Craig Dawson, who went off injured in their victory on Sunday.

The first real chance of the evening came down the Wolves left, as Lewis-Potter picked up the ball inside the final third. He carried it a few yards before back-heeling to Janelt, who clipped a first-time cross to the back post. Wissa was charging in, ready to head home, but Toti got there first and used his head to put the ball out for a corner.

The visitors soon went up the other end and, with goals in the 13th and 14th minute, were 2-0 up in a matter of seconds.

First, Pablo Sarabia received the ball from the second phase of a corner, and a delightful cross found the head of Mario Lemina inside the six-yard box, who rose highest to head home.

And, straight from the Brentford kick-off after that goal, a Collins backpass to Mark Flekken was under-hit, and Hwang intercepted, rounded the keeper and tapped into an empty net.

But a frantic spell wasn't over, as the hosts quickly pulled one back. Some smart play from Neal Maupay on the edge of the box saw him lift a lovely ball over Santiago Bueno and into the path of Wissa, who side-footed beyond Sá to reduce the deficit.

And, with Gtech Community Stadium rocking, the drama went on. A sumptuous cross from Lewis-Potter, as he cut in from the left, was met by the head of Janelt, but was straight at the Wolves no.1.

A chaotic first half did not let up, as the fourth goal of the game hit the back of the net with less than half an hour on the clock.

Toti was the first to a Collins clearance and it seemed to catch out the Brentford defence, as the ball fell to Hwang, who was kept onside by Ethan Pinnock. The Bees man tried to shift across and shut him down, but the forward flicked it over his head and cooly slotted into the back of the net for his second of the game.

There would be one final chance, in stoppage-time, as the Bees looked to get back into the game before the break. Some fantastic footwork from Yehor Yarmoliuk saw Maupay play another delectable ball into Wissa, who did well to cut it back to his team-mate, with Sá closing him down. The on-loan Everton forward's effort inside the area beat the keeper, but also the post.

Bellegarde goal puts game beyond Bees' reach

Mikkel Damsgaard came on at half-time and was close to an assist within 60 seconds of his introduction.

Maupay did well to beat Aït-Nouri down the right and he quickly played Wissa into the penalty area. Wissa teed up his Danish team-mate from the byline, who poked towards Lewis-Potter inside the six-yard box, but his flick couldn't beat Sá.

Moments later, Lewis-Potter tried his luck again, this time from the edge of the area. A long throw-in was headed to the former Hull man on the edge of the box, and his volley was deflected straight into the hands of the Wolves goalkeeper.

Lewis-Potter was a live wire and another mouth-watering cross into the penalty area on 65 minutes couldn't quite be met by Wissa or Maupay.

With Brentford dominating the ball and pushing up the pitch, they were susceptible to the counter attack. A slip from Damsgaard saw Matheus Cunha capitalise and bare down on goal. He beat Pinnock and aimed for the far post, but it came crashing back off the woodwork.

And that counter-attacking threat led to Wolves' fourth, as a misplaced pass from Collins was intercepted by Cunha, who squared to substitute Jeanricner Bellegarde to add another for the visitors.

Brentford: Flekken, Roerslev (Jensen 67), Collins, Pinnock, Ghoddos, Janelt, Nørgaard, Yarmoliuk (Damsgaard 46), Wissa (Olakigbe 86), Maupay, Lewis-Potter (Peart-Harris 86)

Subs not used: Strakosha, Angelini, Adedokun, Zanka, Brierley

Wolves: Sá, Kilman, Santiago Bueno, Toti, Semedo (Doherty 65), Lemina, Gomes, Lemina, Gomes, Aït-Nouri (Hugo Bueno 80), Hwang (Bellegarde 45+7), Cunha, Sarabia (Doyle 65)

Subs not used: Bentley, Hodge, Chirewa, Neto, Kalajdzic

Attendance: 17,109

Frank highlights three positives

Brentford head coach Thomas Frank highlighted three positives from the Bees' defeat to Wolves, despite the disappointing scoreline at Gtech Community Stadium.

He stated: "We lost a game that was never a 4-1 defeat. Of course we didn't help ourselves, but that happens. We made a couple of big mistakes and two other avoidable goals that we normally don't give away. 

“We need to give credit to Wolves on two of the goals - but they’re still avoidable goals, from my perspective.  

“Besides that, it sounds strange, but we performed quite well. We created quite a few big chances and a lot of dangerous situations that really didn't tip our way.  

“It's one of these days where when it rained, it poured.” 

He added: “The three positives I would like to highlight: it was very nice to have Mathi back and he's a big and important player for us; Keane Lewis-Potter was the positive light and bright today, that goal really took some weight off his shoulders; and Yoane Wissa also really upped his game today."

Janelt: We have to stick together

Midfielder Vitaly Janelt stressed the need for togetherness after the Bees’ 4-1 loss to Wolves.

“[Thomas Frank] made a very good speech to us in the changing room,” he said.

“These things are part of a football career - we didn’t take our chances - and we have to stick together.

“In the second half we had two or three good opportunities to score. If we’d scored the second goal, things could have turned around, especially with our fans.”

Janelt added: “It’s easy to complain because we’re not getting the results, but it’s up to us to stick together as a team, with the fans behind us.

“Now we play against Crystal Palace in three days and it’s a big opportunity for us to turn things around.”