NICK PARKES GIVES HIS MATCH REPORT ON THE 3-0 LOSS TO CHELSEA
After a week where Bruno lost his job after a stretch of poor results and one which found high profile players publicly commenting on training standards, we travelled to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea in matchday 9 with Neil Collins and Steve Davies acting as managers for the week. After the dismal outing last week against West Ham, fans were demanding improved team performance albeit against a good (but highly rotated) Chelsea team.
Wolves went into this game without Collins and Neves, who were both serving their respective suspensions. As well as B.Traore, Neto, Sasa and Jimenez who were all out with injuries. This meant a starting position for Adama, Toti and Diego Costa; who made his first Wolves start against his former team. Wolves lined up in a 4,2,3,1 formation with Sa in goal, Jonny, Toti, Kilman and Semedo at the back, Nunes and Moutihno in centre midfield, Podence, Guedes and Adama as the attacking force with Costa up front.
The game started much to be expected, Wolves were on the back foot from the first minute and only a Podence header off target from a Guedes freekick and an aggressive run and cross by Adama was all Wolves fans had to shout about, as Chelsea piled on pressure and created chance after chance but were unable to convert any into goals. Jonny in particular was having a difficult time as Chelsea’s captain and right back Azpilicueta had the better of the Wolves defender countless times in the opening first half.
The biggest frustration from Wolves’s first half performance was the lackluster passing. Too often Wolves gifted away possession and allowed Chelsea to attack at will. Whether it was down to nerves, lack of focus or Chelsea’s press, Wolves were the makers of their own downfall in the first half, and if players such as James, Sterling and Aubameyang were on the pitch, Wolves would have surely been 2 or 3 down early on. However, it was not all doom and gloom for Wolves as there were two moments of brilliance.
Nunes finally showed Wolves his potential with a scintillating run from his own half, weaving passed Chelsea players to then pass nicely to Adama who crossed from the right and it fell almost perfectly onto Nunes’s head. It proves that when Nunes pushes forward he has the ability to cause problems to any team and help Wolves create chances which has been lacking so far this season.
The second good moment of the half for Wolves saw Jose Sa pull off a spectacular save. Diving high and to his left to tip the ball round the post, denying a fantastic goal. Much like Sa’s season, he goes from great to not so. In the 48th minute, Wolves were looking to see out the half without conceding when a cross from Chelsea’s right came in and found Sa caught in two minds, the header from Havertz should have been a routine save had Sa been in the correct position, but instead it looped over him into the net. Indecision cost us and with that, an already difficult task of getting anything from the game got even harder.
The half-time team talk seemed to have filtered into the players as Wolves came out well in the second 45. Guedes was replaced by Hodge, an academy prospect who made his first team debut and looked confident and not out of his depth early on. The plan to get the ball to Adama more looked to work as he had the better of the Chelsea defence down our right wing. However, despite Wolves’s much improved start to the second half, Wolves were undone by good intricate play close to our 18-yard box which resulted in Pulisic (who missed several chances in the first half) chipping the ball over Sa to make it two-nil. Flashbacks of last year’s fixture at Chelsea where Coady headed an injury time equaliser was surely impossible to repeat.
The second goal seemed to knock any confidence out of Wolves as the second half drifted on without much happening for Wolves. The loudest cheer for a Wolves player ironically came from the Chelsea fans who gave Diego Costa a standing ovation when he was subbed for Hwang. As the game dwindled on for Wolves Broja came on for Chelsea and went on to score his first senior goal for them in the 90th minute. Picking up the ball on the left hand side, he works the ball inside and curled it round Kilman and into the bottom corner and with that, the three points stayed in Chelsea.
The attacking woes of Wolves continue and it now makes it 3 goals in 9 games. You will have to travel down many leagues to find a team who has scored less than us. Another difficult viewing for Wolves fans and still certain players are still not taking responsibilities for the predicament we are in. The only thing to cheer about from the day was the incredible efforts by Wolves fan and Always Wolves regular Manny Singh Kang who walked from The Molineux to Stamford Bridge in 3 days to raise money for Dementia UK. To walk that far showed hard work, perseverance and the refusal to give in when times are tough. Qualities we wished our team would show!
ARTICLE BY NICK PARKES
Hi, I’m Nick! Born in Wolverhampton and currently living in Barcelona. I’ve been a Wolves fan since birth (dad’s choice) and was a north bank season ticket holder in my younger days. My favourite all-time player, Bully! And favourite current player is Coady!
I’m an English teacher by trade and when I’m not scolding teenagers in the class, I’m either running, gardening or watching cricket!