20 January 2025
Chelsea 3 Wolves 1
Enzo Maresca’s side had struggled for form over the busy festive schedule. They seemed to be cursed as soon as pundits started talking about title races. Now The Blues had a fight on their hands just to ensure they finish in the top four. Wolves were the visitors to Stamford Bridge, desperate for points to try and secure their Premier League status.
One big bonus for Pereira’s side was the return of Cunha to the starting line-up. He is one of those talents that can make a team look totally different with or without him. Chelsea have that kind of player too and despite not being able to train in the week, Palmer was fit enough to feature for Enzo Maresca’s side also.
The hosts dominated the early stages and it was almost attack versus defence. Palmer was the first to test Josa Sa as he drilled a low shot from just outside the box. The Wolves’ keeper got down well to parry it and fortunately a defender was on hand to hack it clear. There was no way they could give Chelsea all this time and space on the ball and hope to get anything from their trip to the capital.
Pereira’s side almost gifted Chelsea an opening goal. Chalobah, coming straight into the team after being recalled from loan, clipped a hopeful ball over the defence. Doherty was covering but was not on the same wavelength as Jose Sa. The keeper came rushing out and his defender headed it over him. He made amends by putting it behind, at the expense of a corner.
Wolves struggled to clear their lines from the resulting corner. It came out to James on the edge of the box, who looked to get a shot away. It went into a sea of players and somehow Tosin turned towards goal with it. He calmly slotted home but the assistant immediately ruled it out for offside. On this occasion VAR were to rule in the hosts’ favour and award the goal.
Stamford Bridge erupted once the decision was clear. It seemed almost that Maresca’s side took their foot off the gas following the goal. They were happy to pass it around but there did not seem that urgency to get forward. Neto was causing problems for his old teammates down the left flank but they created few clear-cut openings.
Deep into added time, Wolves forced a corner. Cunha tried an outlandish shot and Sanchez made a mess of it on his goal line. He dropped the cross in front of him and Doherty stabbed home to silence the Chelsea fans. The keeper claimed he was impeded but as the replay showed it was simply a poor piece of goalkeeping.
After the interval, both sides struggled to find their groove and impose themselves on the game. James found some good space down the right and swung a cross into the box. It was flicked on at the near post by Dewsbury-Hall and dropped to an unmarked Cucurella in the middle., He had time to control it on his thigh before striking his shot into the far corner.
On the balance of play, The Blues deserved their lead. You felt that they needed to score more though to see this game through. They were still looking edgy at the back and seemed worried when Wolves took the game to them. All too often they have failed to kill games off lately and have been punished numerous times as a result.
Finally Stamford Bridge was a cauldron of noise once again. It had been like a library after the visitors levelled before the break. The fans seemed to be suffering from the same lack of confidence as their players right now. Such a slender lead would make for a nervy ending. The visitors were struggling to impose themselves in the final third of the pitch since the break.
Chelsea forced another corner and the deep cross found Chalobah at the back post. His looping header had Jose Sa beaten but he was robbed of a goal as Madueke headed it in on the line. It would have been the perfect homecoming for the big centre-back. Either way, The Blues now had a two-goal cushion and seemed to be heading to victory.
Wolves created some half-chances but it just didn’t seem to be their day in front of goal. Cunha tried a curling effort from the edge of the box which seemed to be heading in the far corner. Sanchez made an acrobatic save at full-stretch to tip it behind for a corner. Chelsea managed to clear their lines as it was hacked downfield.
Eight minutes of added time was announced and there was a collective groan from the home fans. They still feared the worse despite the scoreline looking comfortable. The visitors huffed and puffed but they could not blow their house down. It was an important win for Maresca’s side ahead of a trip to Man City on the weekend.
Victory saw Chelsea move back into fourth place in the table. It is vital that they bring Champions League football back to West London this campaign. As for Wolves, they actually moved out of the bottom three due to the thrashing that Man City had given Ipswich on the weekend. Now the goal difference was in their favour. A tough run of fixtures will test that over the next few weeks.
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