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NATHAN COLLINS endured a nightmare reunion with Wolves gifting his old club TWO goals as Brentford slipped closer to the relegation fight.Brentford’s club record signing, who joined in a £22million deal from Molineux last summer, made a complete hash of his return from injury.
Wolves were comfortable winners on their trip to LondonCredit: Getty
Nathan Collins had a night to forget against his old teamCredit: Getty

Bees fans would have been delighted to see the defender back having been absent since November, but his former teammates were even happier by the end.
Collins handed Gary O’Neil’s men a goal in each half, looking like a prime playmaker by setting up Hwang Hee-Chan’s second strike and playing his part Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s late finish.
Mario Lemina had opened the scoring in a chaotic first half in which Yoane Wissa grabbed Brentford’s only goal.
A fourth straight defeat leaves Thomas Frank’s depleted side just four points off the bottom three after five losses in their last six.
Frank was hoping he had “nailed it” when switching to a back four to try and cope with their shortages.
But most Bees fans will be praying that, just like their in-laws, they won’t see this shape until at least next Christmas.
The Bees boss had called for a fast start but his side were sloppy from the off.
Vitaly Janelt almost put Hwang’s low cross into his own net from just yards out, sparking three frantic minutes.
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Mario Lemina opened the scoring for WolvesCredit: Rex
Hwang Hee-Chan added to his impressive tally this season with another two goalsCredit: Getty

The Bees failed to clear the resulting corner and ended up shipping a cheap opener, leaving Lemina unmarked at the back post to make it two goals in two games with his header from Pablo Sarabia’s cross.
If the opener was cheap, the second just 80 seconds later was a disaster.
Collins went to play a simple pass back to his keeper, Mark Flekken, but did not put enough on the pass, allowing Hwang to steal in, round the goalie and collect his easiest goal of the season.
Brentford hit back almost immediately – bagging the third goal in three minutes as Wissa fired home from Neal Maupay’s smart ball over the top.
It brought instant relief and a shot of hope to a Brentford side short on confidence after their recent run of five defeats in their last six.
That feeling didn’t last long though.
Having almost got level when Janelt drew a good stop from Jose Sa from six yards, it wasn’t long before the Bees were trudging back to halfway once again.
And it was another goal Collins would not want to see back.
The defender sent a clearance up towards Wissa, who stood and waited for it to fall allowing Toti to nip in front and crash a header forwards.
Toti’s clearance fell to Hwang, who quickly spun and left Ethan Pinnock in a spin with a wonderful flick before restoring the two goal cushion with a clinical finish.
It was the finish of a striker in form and bursting with confidence, just the sort this Brentford side are missing with Ivan Toney still suspended.
A clinical striker is like gold dust in the Premier League, which made it all the harder for Wolves fans to watch Hwang hobble off with a back injury just before the break.
Brentford were much improved after a talking to, with Keane Lewis-Potter twice testing Sa and delivering a number of dangerous crosses which were not attacked by teammates – another shortfall Toney would address.
He won’t help out at the back, though, where Collins was still having a shocker.
With the game petering out, the 22-year-old decided to offer up some more entertainment by rolling another daft ball into the path of Matheus Cunha who raced forward and selflessly teed up Bellegarde to round off a perfect night for Wolves.
Yoane Wissa’s goal proved to be unhelpful for BrenfordCredit: Rex
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde added the cherry on top of a 4-1 win for WolvesCredit: Reuters

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MANCHESTER UNITED have secured their first win under new owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe – but they had to dig deep.John McGinn and Leander Dendoncker put the visitors two up inside the first 30 minutes.
But Alejandro Garnacho’s delightful double levelled the score.
And Rasmus Hojlund grabbed the winner with his first Premier League goal of the season.

RESULT: Man Utd 3-2 Aston Villa
Live stream/TV: Amazon Prime Video
Man Utd XI: Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Evans, Dalot; Mainoo, Eriksen; Fernandes, Rashford, Garnacho; Hojlund
Villa XI: Martinez; Konsa, Carlos, Lenglet, Digne; Luiz, Dendoncker, Bailey, Ramsey; McGinn; Watkins.
Explainer: Who is Sir Jim Ratcliffe?

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That’s all from us!
Thank you as always for reading with us, we look forward to seeing you again next time.
If you still haven’t got your footballing fix, you can catch more top stories from us here, and the player ratings from this game there too.
Have a lovely night!
Who’s next?
This is how the next four games look for Manchester United, they need to try and build some consistency, and if they can go on a good run, they should be in a good spot come the end of the season.
Forest will not be an easy opponent, and will be buoyed after their victory today, and then they face Spurs who are having a good season too.

Match stats
These are the match stats at full-time.
A 3-2 win for United was a fair reflection on the game when all said and done, and they came out fighting in the second half.
They will need to keep this clinical finishing up against Forest and Spurs in the upcoming games if they want to continue to rise up the table.

Garnacho channels his inner CR7
He grew up idolising Cristiano, but today he etched his name into Manchester United folklore after he grasped the game and dragged his team to the win.
He was man of the match, and absolutely exceptional out there today.
Both of his goals were well taken, and he showed maturity and quality in abundance.
This is one of the best days of my life”Alejandro GarnachoVia Prime Video
Hojlund gets his goal!
What a belated Christmas gift that was for Rasmus Hojlund, the winning goal in a thriller against Villa after being 2-0 down.
He was poor in the first half, with his first touch looking like he was wearing Timberland boots.
Nonetheless, he stepped up when his team needed a goal the most, and his sumptuous left footed finish into the corner saw him end his Premier League goal drought.
I am the happiest man alive right now”Rasmus HojlundPrime Video
Hojlund is no longer waiting on that miracleCredit: Getty
FULL-TIME! Man Utd 3-2 Aston Villa
FT. The referee calls the game to a close, and that is an enormous three points and result for Erik ten Hag and Manchester United!
What a game!
Man Utd 3-2 Aston Villa
90+9. Villa are unable to put anything together, and they haven’t really been able to for most of this second half.
Man Utd 3-2 Aston Villa
90+7. United just trying to see this one out now, and it looks as though they are going to do so!
This is a huge three points for United if they can indeed get it.
Man Utd 3-2 Aston Villa
90+4. Dan Gore and Hannibal are coming on for Man Utd.
They are replacing Christian Eriksen and Alejandro Garnacho.
Man Utd 3-2 Aston Villa
90+2. Alejandro Garnacho goes down injured with cramp, but gets back up on his feet.
Man Utd 3-2 Aston Villa
90. There are nine minutes of added time here.
Man Utd 3-2 Aston Villa
88. Willy Kambwala comes on to replace Rasmus Hojlund.
He is hugely applauded thanks to his first goal.
Man Utd 3-2 Aston Villa
85. Villa now find themselves needing a goal just to salvage a draw!
McGinn comes forward, but is dispossessed before the ball is cleared away by McTominay.
Man Utd 3-2 Aston Villa
82. What a turnaround by Man Utd, and what a relief for Rasmus Hojlund!
They have been deserving of the victory based on this second half performance!What a showing!
GOALLLLLL! Man Utd 3-2 Aston Villa
80. Antony dispossesses Lenglet and wins a corner, it is whipped into the middle by Bruno Fernandes and HOJLUND FINISHES IT OFF!
Andre Onana is up to join in the celebrations!1026 minutes with no goal, and he finally gets off the mark!
It’s a left footed volley from inside the area! Merry Christmas Rasmus Hojlund!
Man Utd 2-2 Aston Villa
78. Rashford goes down, and his nights work is now done as Antony comes on to replace him.
Kobbie Mainoo is replaced by Scott McTominay too.
Man Utd 2-2 Aston Villa
76. Diaby and Zaniolo are set to come on for Villa here.
They will replace Jacob Ramsey and Leon Bailey.
Man Utd 2-2 Aston Villa
72. Man Utd have been really on the front foot in the second half, and are fully deserving of the draw here.
“Viva Garnacho” rings around Old Trafford.
Bruno Fernandes is booked for losing his temper at Douglas Luiz.
Man Utd 2-2 Aston Villa
70. The corner comes to nothing, but United keep the ball and come on the attack again.
Bruno works the ball into the middle to Garnacho, WHO SMASHES IT HOME!
THEY HAVE LEVELLED THE SCORING HERE.
Man Utd 1-2 Aston Villa
68. Man Utd are coming forwards again here with Garnacho, and he wins a corner for the Red Devils.
Man Utd 1-2 Aston Villa
65. Hojlund gets through on goal and thinks he is shoved to ground by Diego Carlos.
That could be contentious for a VAR review, but the offside flag negates that regardless.
Man Utd 1-2 Aston Villa
63. Onana plays a great ball up the field for Garnacho, who bodies the defender and takes a shot that goes just wide of the target.
Man Utd 1-2 Aston Villa
61. Villa come straight back on the attack with Bailey, but his shot is well saved.
GOALLLLL! Man Utd 1-2 Aston Villa
58. Alejandro Garnacho gets his goal!
Great play from Rashford down the left side, and he crosses the ball to Garnacho to tap home!
Man Utd 0-2 Aston Villa
56. Fernandes takes a good strike at goal, but Martinez makes another good save.
United look much more dangerous in the second half than in the first. More

BOURNEMOUTH host Fulham this afternoon – and they’ll be hoping to pick up three more Premier League points.Dominic Solanke’s hot streak in front of goal continued as the Cherries forward bagged a hat-trick against ten-man Nottingham Forest.
While Fulham lost their second successive league fixture at the hands of new boys Burnley.

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NOW it really is getting serious for out-of-sorts Newcastle.Losing away from home is one thing but when a side who’ve never previously picked up a Premier League point against the Magpies breach their St James’ Park fortress, the alarm bells are ringing loudly
Chris Wood celebrates with Anthony ElangaCredit: Alamy
Wood was back to haunt his former clubCredit: PA
Eddie Howe’s job may not be in peril but the stats are wracking up against him after the worst home display since he arrived over two years ago.
This was Newcastle’s sixth defeat in seven games, their third in a row and it;s Liverpool away next.
The star was ex-Toon striker Chris Wood, a striker deemed surplus to requirements by the Saudi-rich club on their supposedly inexorable climb towards the top of the football summit.
Wood scored a memorable hat-trick for Forest who came from a goal down to win for only the second time since September 2.
Their last victory in a top flight game on Tyneside was in 1988 when Brian Clough ran the show.
Now they’re up and running under Nuno Espirito Santo and while he still has plenty of work to do, this was Clough-esque in terms of upsetting the applecart.
It’s been a wretched December for Newcastle, Out of the Champions League, out of the Carabao Cup and now looking down and out.
And don’t bank on a return ticket to Europe. Momentum is going only one way right now.

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After Alexander Isak scored from the penalty spot, Wood equalised in the 45th minute, then struck in the 54th and 60th minutes.
Three in quarter of an hour compared to four in more than a year as a Newcastle striker.
Forest’s last appearance at St James’ Park was in August last year on their long-awaited return to the Premier League.
How things have changed for them in the 17 months since though his was perhaps their finest hour over the period.
Not only are they under new management, their side is virtually unrecognisable from that balmy afternoon with Moussa Niakhate the lone survivor.
With such a bloated squad at his disposal, the new coach admits it may take him some to time to find his best starting XI.
He clearly wasn’t too impressed during the 3-2 defeat against Bournemouth, making six changes for his first away game in charge.
This eyecatching result will surely give him more appetising food for thought.
Despite their dreadful form, a rotten record against Newcastle and that raft of changes, Forest made a bright start and grew in confidence as the match wore on.
Newcastle forced a corner inside the opening 20 seconds but it was the visitors who had the first chance of the game in the third minute.
Teenager Lewis Miley was caught dawdling on the edge of his own area and Morgan Gibbs-White seized on the loose ball only to drag his shot inches wide.
Forest had already survived one VAR check when Isak went down inside the box but were not so fortunate in the 22nd minute when Ola Aina sent the Swede tumbling.
Isak stepped up to convert from 12 yards for his tenth goal of the season and first in six games.
The Magpies began to turn the screw. Set up by Miley, Anthony Gordon was only denied by a courageous, full-length block from Gonzalo Montiel.
And after wriggling his way towards goal, Isak’s shot from a narrow angle was pushed over the bar by Matt Turner.
But Forest were always looking to release Anthony Elanga and the former Manchester United man proved a constant menace, testing Martin Dubravka with one effort and firing another into the sidenetting.
And it was Elanga who created the equaliser for Wood in first half-injury time with the Kiwi scoring for the second successive game.
Forest always carried a threat on the counter, none more so than when Gibson-White had the Toon defence backpedalling as he burst upfield.
He played in Elanga whose pull-back was tapped into an empty net by Wood.
Newcastle almost hit back immediately but Isak headed straight at Turner before Hudson-Odoi sprang an attack only to shoot tamely at Dubravka.
It was Elanga who had Forest’s first shot on target in the second half when he seized on some hesitant Toon defending to bring another save out of the Slovakian keeper.
The Geordies looked a bag of nerves on the restart and they were made to pay when Wood struck again in the 54th minute.
Dan Burn had struggled throughout and he will want to forget the move which led to the Forest goal.
After failing to cut out Elanga’s delivery, the beanpole defender was then turned inside out by Wood who then deftly lifted the ball over the advancing Dubravka.
Burn was hooked moments later along with the equally ineffective Miguel Almiron but by now, Newcastle were a shambles.
And when – with Kieron Trippier playing him onside – Wood latched on to Murillos’s long ball before rounding Dubravka, it was game over.
Miley and Isak went close in the last half an hour but a Toon comeback never looked likely.
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