toptop
Stamford
Bridge turned on Mauricio Pochettino and his Chelsea side as they were
deservedly humbled 4-2 by Wolves on another miserable afternoon for the Blues.
The hosts were booed off at the end of both halves while fans chanted the name
of former owner Roman Abramovich as they shipped four goals for the second time
in five days, though this display was even worse than their dismal defeat at
Liverpool on Wednesday.
Chelsea briefly led through Cole Palmer's smart finish from Moises Caicedo's
excellent threaded pass but things instantly fell apart once Matheus Cunha
levelled up with a significantly deflected equaliser.
There was a stroke of fortune to that goal and the more costly Axel Disasi touch
which would hand Wolves the lead, but the visitors made their own luck by
remaining compact and patient while their hosts grew increasingly frustrated.
There was a concerning lack of improvement from Chelsea after the break and they
instead found themselves two goals behind from the best move of the game, when
Pedro Neto sped past Thiago Silva and squared for Cunha to add a third.
Things went from bad to worse for the beleaguered Blues, who saw Raheem Sterling
booed after he was substituted midway through the second half, when Malo Gusto's
rash challenge on Cunha earned Wolves a stonewall penalty, which the Brazilian
dispatched coolly to seal his hat-trick - and elicit another chorus of jeers
from the home stands.
There was something to cheer for the Chelsea fans still remaining at Stamford
Bridge when Silva headed home a corner four minutes from time, but there was
little to paper over the cracks of another despondent showing and a first home
defeat to Wolves since 1979.
Chelsea patience wears thin as Wolves run riot
Chelsea's recent home form has been their one shining light in what has
otherwise been a season to forget, with four consecutive league wins in West
London the only thing stopping them plunging further into the mid-table mire.
The confidence blow of Wednesday's 4-1 defeat at Liverpool clearly still
affected Pochettino's young side in the opening minutes, with Wolves twice
gifted chances to strike. But they soon settled, and took a deserved lead inside
20 minutes when Caicedo threaded Palmer through and the Blues' top scorer
slotted home from 12 yards.
At that point, Stamford Bridge felt like it was becoming the fortress of old.
How quickly it crumbled. Within three minutes Neto shrugged off Caicedo in the
centre-circle and fed Cunha, who ran at the retreating Disasi and fired in an
immediate equaliser courtesy of a big deflection off Silva.
Chelsea continued to push but found Wolves a tough nut to crack, and as they
struggled to raise their intensity to find a way through, were caught out again
when Neto found space behind Ben Chilwell and crossed for Gomes.
Again it took a Chelsea boot - this time Disasi - to take it past Dorde
Petrovic, but again it was a problem of the hosts' own making.
After they were roundly jeered to the dressing room at the interval, all
expectations anticipated a reaction after the break, but Wolves could have added
a third within 30 seconds of the restart and dominated the second half from
start to finish.
Cunha's second did not flatter the visitors, and instead exposed further holes
in the Chelsea defence as Chilwell was again caught out upfield by Neto, leaving
the winger to breeze past Silva and tee up Cunha, who topped off a smart late
run into the box with a smart finish.
The Chelsea fans had seen enough and began to sing the name of former owner
Abramovic as well as joining Wolves' chants at their own expense, before
Sterling was loudly booed when he was substituted for Mykhailo Mudryk 18 minutes
from time.
That still left plenty of time for Chelsea's afternoon to get worse. After
Gusto's rash challenge on Cunha, who steadied himself to bury the resulting
penalty for his hat-trick, the away end's celebrations were drowned out by more
frustrations from the home fans still inside Stamford Bridge.
By the time of Silva's late consolation from a corner, there were few remaining
to cheer a rare moment of joy for the hosts with most already attempting to
process another Chelsea defeat, which sees Wolves jump above them and into the
top half of the Premier League table.
What's next?
Chelsea visit Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth-round replay on Wednesday night
before a trip to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Monday Night Football,
live on Sky Sports; kick-off 8pm.
Wolves host Brentford at Molineux in the Premier League on Saturday; kick-off
3pm.
Click Here for Official Teamsheet
Teams
Chelsea Petrovic, Gusto (Gilchrist
81), Disasi, Silva, Chilwell (c) (Badiashile 81), Gallagher, Caicedo (Jackson
63), Fernandez, Palmer, Nkunku (Chukwuemeka 72), Sterling (Mudryk 72)
Subs Not Used Bergstrom, Bettinelli, Casadei, Madueke
Booked Gusto, Caicedo, Chilwell
Goals Palmer 19, Silva 86
Wolverhampton Wanderers Sa, Kilman (c), Toti, Dawson, Semedo,
Lemina, Gomes (Doherty 90), Ait-Nouri (H. Bueno 87), Neto (Bellegarde 72),
Cunha, Sarabia (Doyle 72)
Subs Not Used Bentley, S. Bueno, Griffiths, Chirewa, Fraser
Booked Semedo, Neto
Goals Cunha 22, 63, 82 (pen), Disasi 43 (og)
Attendance 39,628
Referee Tim Robinson
VAR Simon Hooper