Wolves 2-1 Chelsea: Three Things We Learned

This unpredictable Premier League campaign took yet another twist last night as Wolverhampton Wanderers staged a dramatic comeback to hand Chelsea their second straight league defeat. The game burst into life in the second half after a dull first 45 minutes, and with a whole host of fixtures left to go this week, it truly does feel like anything can happen as the hectic December period heats up.

The value of Giroud

For the longest time Olivier Giroud wasn’t considered to be a natural starter for Chelsea, and Frank Lampard himself has pretty much admitted that he was wrong in that regard. Now, the Frenchman simply cannot stop scoring, and he was able to continue his strong run of form at Molineux with a well-taken opening goal. You’d have to imagine that, moving forward, he will be given far more opportunities to shine in a Blues side that could use an old school centre forward like him.

Neto’s big moment

Pedro Neto has been tipped for greatness by Wolves fans for quite some time now, and while he did have a bad moment with a supposed dive that almost won him a penalty, he more than made up for it in injury time with a sensational solo goal that won Wolves the game. Many fans are of the belief that he’ll go on to become an even better player than Diogo Jota, who left for Liverpool, whereas others go even further and suggest he will win up being one of the most dangerous players in all of Europe.

Chelsea’s reality check

After losing to Everton and now Wolves, Chelsea have slipped down to 7/1 with 888sport to win the Premier League – but beyond the odds, many fans think that these two games have proven that Lampard just doesn’t have what it takes to guide this team to the title right now, regardless of whether or not they go on another hot streak. They need to start managing their expectations because if they get too far ahead of themselves, this could turn into the kind of rut that leaves them scratching and clawing for a place in the top four by the time May rolls around.

Match Report

Wolves: Patricio (6.5), Saiss (7), Coady (7), Boly (7.5), Marcal (7), Neves (7), Dendoncker (6), Semedo (7.5), Podence (8), Neto (8), Silva (6.5), Otasowie (7), Traore (6), Vitinha (6.5)

Chelsea: Mendy (6), James (6.5), Zouma (7), Silva (6.5), Chilwell (7.5), Havertz (6), Kante (6.5), Mount (6.5), Werner (6), Giroud (7), Pulisic (7), Abraham (6), Kovacic (6.5)

Referee: Stuart Attwell

Goals: Podence, Neto :: Giroud

Yellow Cards: Semedo, Podence, Kante, Mount

Red Cards: N/A