Chelsea scored a massive six goals against Wolves, with Noni Madueke being the Chelsea hero, snatching the match from Gary O’Neil’s men with a hat-trick.
Nicolas Jackson gave the away side an early lead by scoring the opening goal after just 98 seconds, Chelsea’s earliest Premier League goal since September 2017 against Stoke City (Álvaro Morata, 82 seconds).
Chelsea’s anniversary celebrations were soon interrupted by Wolves when Mattheus Cunha levelled for the home side in the 27th minute.
From that moment on, Enzo Maresca’s men went on the attack against the home side, with Cole Palmer, Madueke and Joao Felix all contributing to Chelsea’s score, while Wolves managed just one more goal just before half-time, courtesy of Larsen.
Mail Sport’s KIERAN GILL was on hand to assess the players from both teams.
Nicolas Jackson opened the scoring for The Blues in the opening minutes of the match
Chelsea were not ahead for long before Mattheus Cunha equalised for Wolves
The match was full of drama with
Wolves
Jose Sa 4 – When a keeper concedes six, all he can do is hold his hands up, even though he was helpless on several occasions because of his defence. Palmer’s lob was the most picturesque strike he let slip.
Matt Doherty 5 – Against Mudryk, Doherty often won that battle in the first half, so he had Neto as a competitor in the second half. I can say that he had a much harder time after the change.
Yerson Mosque 5 – He should have scored in the 10th minute when Chelsea’s team made a free header from a corner possible, but the ball went wide, much to the disbelief of his manager.
Total 4.5 – Toti and Sa avoided a disastrous blunder when neither seemed to know who should take possession of the ball. Fortunately, they just managed to avoid the danger.
Rayan Ait-Nouri 5 – Fantastic feet with which Cunha equalised for 1-1. If he wanted to be cheered by the Wolves fans, all he had to do was foul Madueke, but his deflection helped the Chelsea winger to make it 3-2.
Joao Gomes 6 – It looked like Wolves’ midfield was sharper than Chelsea’s, but the second half was an even contest with the visitors taking the lead.
Mario Lemina 6 – The Wolves captain was among those who skated through challenges from Caicedo and Fernandez in the first half and thought he had scored, but Rocket was rightly ruled out for offside.
Hee Chan Hwang 4.5 – Frustrated Wolves fans when he half-heartedly tackled, especially as everyone else was giving it their all in this tough clash. Quickly replaced by Podence.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde 5.5 – Stealing the ball from Caicedo in the run-up to Cunha’s equaliser (1-1). A fantastic tackle that may have gone unnoticed, but made the whole action possible.
Matheus Cunha 6.5 – Thought he had equalised but ruled out Strand Larsen’s offside earlier in the move. No matter as he scored a goal, although he was disappointed not to score more.
Jurgen Strand Larsen 6 – Good runs at the back and balls through the box. Knows which spaces to invade and when, and was helped in large part by Chelsea’s defenders forgetting to mark the 6ft 4in bump at the top.
Larsen scored the second goal for Wolves, making the score more manageable
Subtitles:
Daniel Podence (59, for Hwang) – 5: Had little impact on the match as Wolves fought a losing battle in the second half.
Craig Dawson (67, for Ait Nouri) – 6: Came onto the field with damage limitation in mind, but Felix also joined in the celebration.
Rodrigo Gomes (68, for Bellegarde) – 6: Thankless task to come on as a substitute and try to rectify a failing performance like this.
Pablo Sarabia (68, for Cunha) – 6: Tried to interfere, but the pass was loose.
Tommy Doyle (90, for Lemina) – N/A
Goal Scorers: Head 27′, Larsen 45+6′
Booked: Ait-Nouir 27′, Mosquera 71′
Manager: Gary O’Neil – 4.5
Wolves showed fighting spirit in the first half, but somehow that disappeared after the break, when Chelsea took the lead and this time held on to it.
Wolves showed fighting spirit in the first half, but somehow that disappeared after the break
Chelsea (4-2-3-1)
Robert Sanchez 6.5 – It is debatable whether he should be Chelsea’s first choice, but his quick goal kick was superb, leading to Palmer’s fantastic lob to make it 2-1. His defending didn’t help at times.
Malo Gusto 6 – Should have noticed Cunha’s presence when he was all alone to score from his right back position. Chelsea need to fix these mistakes to compete in the future.
Wesley Fofana 6.5 – Chelsea’s new set-piece specialist Bernardo Cueva gets to work as Fofana helps the ball to Jackson for 1-0. However, the Blues still have some work to do on the organisational front.
Levi Colwill 7 – The only reason Wolves didn’t go 2-1 up at half-time was because he blocked Cunha’s effort. Imagine how different this game could have been if it hadn’t been for that.
Marc Cucurella 7 – Jackson’s first ball into the back didn’t result in a goal, but it was a beautiful display from Chelsea and a foretaste of what Maresca expects from Cucurella and co.
Enzo Fernández 6 – Captain again in the absence of Reece James, but beaten too easily by Ait-Nouri, making it 1-1. In truth, Chelsea’s midfield felt soft for a long time here.
Moses Caicedo 6 – Caicedo lost the ball in the build-up to Wolves scoring through Cunha, which became a regrettable theme. Must perform better, both in possession and out of possession.
Noni Madueke 9 – So much for Wolverhampton being a ‘s***’ place! Madueke had a great time scoring three goals in 14 minutes, all assisted by Palmer. Maybe he should post more insults about other clubs on Instagram!
Madueke was Chelsea’s hat-trick hero today against Wolves
Cole Palmer 9.5 – Gave Wayne Rooney vibes, complained to the ref one minute, scored a screamer the next. Created the corner for Jackson’s opening goal, assisted Madueke’s hat-trick and played a part in Felix making it 6-2. Scary good.
Mykhailo Mudryk 5 – Maresca is yet another manager trying to get the most out of himself, but he was replaced at half-time when Neto came on to play against his old club, and Chelsea went completely nuts.
Nicolas Jackson 8 – It took less than two minutes for Chelsea to take the lead after curling the ball to the far post from a corner, and they rubbed it in the faces of the Wolves fans once again, setting up Palmer for a superb lob.
Despite Madueke’s hat-trick, Cole Palmer was the star of the show
Subtitles:
Pedro Neto (45, for Mudryk) – 7: Assisted Felix to score a goal on his second debut.
Joao Felix (68, for Jackson) – 7: He’s back and scores, coming off the bench as the Chelsea fans chant his name.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (76, for Caicedo) – N/A
Christopher Nkunku (83, for Palmer) – N/A
Renato Veiga (83, for Cucurella) – N/A
Goal Scorers: Jackson 2′, Palmer 45′, Madueke 29′, 58′, 63′, Felix 80′
Booked: Gusto 40′, Palmer 44′, Cucurella 71′
Manager:
Enzo Maresca – 8: He will not have appreciated the lack of control in the first half, but there is nothing to fault in Chelsea’s performance when they got going again. Maresca is