Wolves played out a 1-1 draw with Brentford in the Premier League yesterday, but it ended on a sour note with Diego Costa picking up a red card.
Wanderers were much improved down in London, having put in a sorry performance last time out against Leicester City.
The first-half was actually very poor in terms of quality, from both sides.
But the second-half really sprung into life from the off.
Ben Mee grabbed the opening goal for the hosts, before Ruben Neves equalised just moments later with a fine strike from the edge of the box.
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Wolves fought hard to try and find a winner.
But the Bees stood firm and when all was said and done, a draw was probably a fair result.
There were a lot of fouls and stoppages in the game, which made for a somewhat annoying viewing experience at times.
Perhaps the most controversial incident came right at the end, when Costa tussled with Mee.
The striker pushed his head into Mee, and VAR instructed Bobby Madley to go to the pitchside monitor. He then brandished a red card.
Reacting on Match of the Day, pundits Shearer and Wright expressed their disappointment in the 34-year-old.
Wright said: “He couldn’t even tell you (what he was thinking).”
Shearer added: “You can’t argue with it, it’s a red card. Straight away. I think he tries twice you know. Crazy. And he’s off now until Boxing Day.”
Costa receiving his marching orders was a stain on what had actually been quite a good performance from the veteran.
He had looked sharp in the match, and had a few good chances to get his first Wolves goal.
Diego Costa let his team down with red card, but Wolves knew what they were getting
It is very frustrating that Costa just couldn’t keep himself in check for a few minutes longer.
Now he’ll miss the next three games for Wolves, and with Raul Jimenez still out injured, it’s not good news.
The star has apologised to his teammates, but now Steve Davis must find a suitable replacement. One would imagine Goncalo Guedes and Hwang Hee-chan will be the options to lead the line.
Even though this was actually Costa’s first red card in the Premier League, the club knew there was always a chance this could happen with him.
He has that feistiness and competitive spirit. While it’s largely a good thing, it can obviously sometimes spill over.