Lemina, Doherty on target as Wolves see off Chelsea
CHELSEA lost for the fourth successive away game in the Premier League as goals from Mario Lemina and Matt Doherty enabled Gary O’Neil’s side to extend their unbeaten home run to seven matches and draw level on points with the Londoners.
To add to Chelsea’s woes, Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer collected their fifth yellow cards of the season and will be suspended for Wednesday’s home game with Crystal Palace.
The lack of discipline within their ranks spread to the dugout as Mauricio Pochettino was also cautioned but, while the visitors dominated possession and firsthalf chances, Wolves deserved their victory.
The game, in keeping with much of this festive period’s action, started as if it was the end of the match: it was so frantic, so frenetic. Then it carried on in the same vein throughout.
Sterling had enough chances on his own in the first half to have put the game to bed.
By the time Wolves went ahead through Lemina’s header early in the second half, they were just relieved to still be in the game.
Yet Chelsea’s wastefulness in front of goal seems emblematic of their general malaise, as they veer from the shoots of positivity in reaching the last four of the Carabao Cup to three successive away defeats in the Premier League before this.
Sterling was as sharp as anyone on the field in the first period but Nicolas Jackson completely miscontrolled, taking his eye off the ball, when the former England winger’s cross found him in space in the opening quarter of an hour.
But the biggest miss of the match came when Sterling dispossessed João Gomes, lax when receiving José Sá’s pass just inside his own half, and ran the full half of the pitch in on goal.
It was fair enough that he eschewed the option of passing to Palmer or Jackson to his right — as long as he scored.
Instead he shot at a height a goalkeeper would prefer and Sá was able to save.
At this point Wolves were remonstrating among themselves but to their credit they finished the half strongly, Hwang Heechan controlling a half-hit shot from Lemina close in on goal but, perhaps surprised not to be offside, unable to turn and score.
The South Korean had an even better chance as well, running in on to Pablo Sarabia’s superb pass down the inside-right channel but blasting his shot just over.
Chelsea came out for the second half again appearing out of sorts, Thiago Silva allowing himself to be dispossessed by Hwang and Gomes’s shot deflecting off the hand of Axel Disasi.
While Wolves did not get any fortune from a VAR call there, they were in luck soon after as they enjoyed their best spell of the game.
Toti’s header was superbly saved by Djordje Petrovic, and Sarabia’s follow-up effort deflected behind, as Wolves sensed a breakthrough.
Sure enough, from Sarabia’s inswinging corner, Lemina got in front of Lesley Ugochukwu, his purported marker, and glanced on a header into the far corner of the goal, Petrovic standing stock still.
Chelsea were at sixes and sevens: however inventive and varied their attacking options, they look vulnerable defensively.
Matheus Cunha dispossessed Disasi and squared for Hwang, who went down in instalments under Levi Colwill’s challenge.
Again Wolves did not get the benefit of the VAR doubt – it would have been a soft penalty — but Chelsea’s sense of frustration, or disillusionment, mounted as they had three players booked for dissent within six minutes. Sterling was later booked for diving.
Christopher Nkunku came on for his Premier League debut and Chelsea intensified their pressure, Wolves tiring.
Toti cleared off the line from the £52 million substitute, while Craig Dawson had to go off with a serious looking knee injury after he blocked Sterling’s effort.
Just as it appeared Wolves could drop no deeper without actually going into the North Bank, they broke to score in the third of the allocated 11 minutes of stoppage time.
Hugo Bueno’s cross from the left-wing was met with a horribly undercooked clearance from Benoît Badiashile and there was Matt Doherty on hand to pass home his first Premier League goal since returning to Wolves in the summer.
There was time for Nkunku, unmarked, to head in Sterling’s cross but Chelsea went down yet again.