Pedro Neto fired in a stoppage-time winner to crown a spectacular comeback by Wolves and inflict a punishing defeat on a Chelsea side who had briefly threatened to stutter to victory.
After a humdrum first half Olivier Giroud opened the scoring with a beautifully taken goal but Daniel Podence equalised with an even better one before Neto claimed a deserved victory for Nuno Espírito Santo’s team.
As encouraging as the manner of the win is for a Wolves team trying to adapt to the loss of Raúl Jiménez, the way Chelsea drifted through this game and faded when the going got tough augurs ill for their title ambitions. Frank Lampard’s side have lost two league matches in a row for the first time in over a year.
Lampard, ever eager to deflate expectation around his lavishly assembled team, had insisted the defeat at Everton on Saturday came as no great surprise, that a team in a relatively early stage of development can be forgiven the occasional lapse. The manager’s lineup did not suggest he was spooked by anything he saw at Goodison Park, as he made one alteration to the side who started there, with Christian Pulisic beginning in place of Mateo Kovacic. But too few players seemed inspired to atone; too many seemed to shrink towards the end.
Lampard suggested some of his players may have succumbed to complacency after enjoying a 14-match unbeaten run before losing to Everton, hinting they should reflect on their attitudes before Monday’s home game with West Ham.
“Maybe players can think about that,” he said. “Think about [the defeat to Wolves] and Everton. This is the Premier League. If you don’t perform, you lose.”
Nuno has been in situ at Molineux for more than twice as long as Lampard has been in charge of Chelsea but Wolves are in the throes of a transition, one complicated by the loss of Jiménez. The fact Podence and Neto attacked audaciously and scored will swell belief they can find an enduring way to win matches even without the prolific Mexican. Full report here
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