Wolves thrashed Chelsea 2-1 at Molineux on Sunday when a special Christmas Eve attack ended in a deserved win for the hosts.
Chelsea’s nightmare continued before Christmas as Mauricio Pochettino’s side have lost four-straight away games and are now 14 points off the Premier League’s top four.
Chelsea wasted big chances in the first half but Wolves started the second half superbly as Mario Lemina gave them the lead, then Matt Doherty put them 2-0 up in stoppage time. Christopher Nkunku jumped off the bench and pulled a goal back in the 96th minute but Chelsea couldn’t find a late equalizer as their woeful 2023 continues.
Wolves now have 22 problems and have beaten Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea at home, while Molineux have a castle for Gary O’Neil’s side. Wolves are struggling with Chelsea, who have now won just 10 of their 41 Premier League games in the 2023 calendar year.
They started the game well, but were not in great danger as Raheem Sterling, Nicolas Jackson and Armando Broja were all wasteful. They did not protect well in key moments. They lacked the power to keep pace with the attacks and were outplayed in midfield by the Wolves duo of Lemina and Gomes. This is very anti-Pochettino and it can be seen that it deeply hurts the Argentine coach. Chelsea are 14 points behind the top four and far from their goal for the season. Chrismost sensibleher Nkunku scored late off the bench to give Chelsea hope that, despite everything, they have their clinical striker to finish off the big chances they create (see graphic below), but there is so much disruption in this team that they can’t They can all be solved. to goallessness and injury disorders. Halfway through the season, Chelsea are nowhere near where we imagined they would be and Pochettino’s patience is failing. Chelsea’s owners have had a terrible 2023 and the most productive thing that can be said about Chelsea right now is that it can’t get worse than this. They wait.
Through our friends at FotMob. com, you can see that Wolves’ midfield was dominant as Gomes and Lemina were very good and never gave Chelsea that area.
Wolves will travel to Brentford on Wednesday, December 27, while Chelsea will host Crystal Palace on the same day.
Start: 8 a. m. ET, Sunday (December 24) TV Channel: USA Network Online: Broadcast NBC. com
The hosts were deserved winners as Chelsea started the game well but faded badly and just couldn’t live with Wolves’ energy. Pochettino looked devastated and upset. Not a Merry Christmas for Chelsea. But a very happy one for Wolves.
Sterling’s cross from the right went over the top and Nkunku, who was completely unmarked, went home.
That’s right. Hwang stepped in from the left and played it to Bueno, who crossed and Badiahille could just look transparent as Doherty went home.
We are into 11 minutes of stoppage time due to that lengthy injury break for Craig Dawson. Chelsea are huffing and puffing. The cameras pan to their fans in the away end with their blue Santa hats on. At the moment it looks like being a blue Christmas for Chelsea.
Pochettino brought on Nkunku and Mudryk and the former almost equalized. A high ball in the area causes disorder, Sa cannot and the ball falls to Nkunku, who pushes towards the goal and Toti Gomes brilliantly clears the line. Chelsea pushes hard to equalize. Moments later, Dawson heroically blocks and is beaten in the proceedings, being substituted after a long delay. Wolves protect bravely.
Wolves are flying and Hwang is played in and goes down under pressure from Colwill. The foul is checked by VAR but no penalty kick is given.
A corner from the right found Lemina in the centre of the goal and he sent a header into the corner. Molineux bursts in. The Wolves deserved it after the start of the second half.
The Wolves started the second half very well. Gomes’ deflected shot grazed the post, then a cross to the far post found Toti Gomes unmarked, but his header went straight to Petrovic, who did well to avoid it. Wolves are flying, but Chelsea still look damaging when they too advance. This game is coming to life now.
Chelsea were the more dangerous team but did not try their luck and Wolves held on. Sterling had to fight for this great instance and let’s hope Chelsea don’t miss this opportunity.
Jose Sa first took a free kick inside the box from outside, but grabbed it and threw it to Sarabia, who was under pressure. Palmer won it and took a shot on purpose that deflected and flew overhead. So there’s no point in putting his team under pressure like this.
A great ball over the more sensible one unearths Hwang and he is in the goal but shoots slightly over the top. He’s not under any pressure and, although the angle is a bit tight, Hwang had to hit the target.
A long back forward sees Semedo clip in a cross which is half cleared and Sarabia is there but his low shot deflects wide for a corner. That corner comes to nothing but just before half time this is better from Wolves.
The Wolves did everything they could to get Chelsea involved, but the Blues created a lot of disruption with their fluidity of movement. Sterling hits a loose shot just over the top. After a mistake by Sa while playing Gomes under pressure, Sterling broke free but Sa stayed low. But, my goodness, if Sterling had looked up and moved to the right of him, he had two players in position to dig into a void. net. Chelsea will be ahead of the game.
Chelsea launch a counter and Sterling finds Broja who cuts inside but Lemina is there to make a tackle. But how much did he get of the ball? Broja went down as he cut inside but no penalty kick is given. Chelsea are playing direct and looking dangerous on the counter. Wolves are struggling to get out of their own half early on as Semedo then denies Jackson an effort on goal.
His; Kilman, Dawson, Toti; Semedo, Gomes, Lemina, Aït-Nouri; Hwang, Cunha, Sarabia
Petrovich; Gusto, Disasi, Silva, Colwill; Ugochukwu, Gallagher; Palmer, Jackson, Sterling; Broja
Finding the right balance in attack has been key for Wolves this season, as Hwang, Cunha and Sarabia have lost a bit of their charm in recent weeks. With Pedro Neto injured, it’s a tough blow, but Wolves hope he returns soon. It has been very difficult to face Neil’s team as they are a well-structured unit and have a solid foundation in midfield and defence, so they love to launch counter-attacks and make the most of their opponents’ small mistakes.
OUT: Jonny (Disciplinary – Club), Joe Hodge (Shoulder) | QUESTIONABLE: Pedro Neto (thigh), Jose Sa (shoulder), Nelson Semedo (illness)
Chelsea have a lot of injury problems, but the big news is the return of Nkunku. The French striker’s clinical form and fitness from now on will make the difference between a successful season and a bad one. Poch left out Enzo Fernandez last time out In the Premier League, a great resolution turned out to be the right one, while the Argentine midfielder now has a groin problem. Chelsea are still struggling to find their most productive line-up and combinations on the pitch and that’s still a work in progress. , however, the festive era gives them a chance to get going and temporarily catch up with those above them.
OUT: Ben Chilwell (hamstring), Wesley Fofana (ACL rupture), Carney Chukwuemeka (knee), Trevoh Chalobah (thigh), Reece James (thigh), Robert Sanchez (knee), Marc Cucurella (ankle), Enzo Fernandez (illness), Moises Caicedo (illness)
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