Chelsea picked up their second Premier League win in a row after a 3-0 home thrashing against Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Blues put in a clinical second-half display to pick up another three points and propel them up to second in the top flight.
Chelsea
The first 45 minutes went by without anything of note happening, although it was a half dominated by Enzo Maresca’s side. It took them just six minutes of the second half for them to break the deadlock.
Malo Gusto scored his first goal for the club, heading home a cross after finding himself unmarked in the penalty box.
14 minutes after the Frenchman’s goal, Chelsea found the back of the net again. This time, it was Joao Pedro who scored, firing home a loose ball from 12 yards out. It was brilliant play from substitute Estevao just seconds after coming on, who took the ball on the outside and sent a low cross into the box.
Chelsea made it 3-0 with 17 minutes to go. It was former Wolves attacker Pedro Neto who scored, coming back to haunt his former club. He finished off an incisive counter-attack to secure the points for his side.
Neto
It was a strong performance from the Blues, with a couple of players really standing out.
Chelsea’s best players vs. Wolves
One of the standout players in Blue was summer signing Alejandro Garnacho. The Argentine set up two of the three goals at Stamford Bridge, and has now scored or assisted three goals in his last two games across all competitions.
Garnacho
His work for both assists was impressive. For Gusto’s goal, Garnacho stood a cross up to the back post, making it easy for him to head home.
He perfectly executed the counter-attack for the Blues’ second goal, putting an inch-perfect cross on a plate for Neto to score.
The other man who stood out for Maresca’s side was Garnacho’s fellow Argentine international, Enzo Fernandez. He controlled the midfield once again, just as he did in the Blues’ last Premier League game away to Tottenham Hotspur.
It was, in many ways, effortless from the Chelsea midfielder, who took the captain's armband with Reece James on the bench. He created two chances, completed 97% of his passes and completed four out of four long balls.
Enzo Fernandez
As well as the likes of Garnacho and Fernandez played against Wolves, there was one Chelsea star who didn’t look at his best.
The Chelsea player who struggled vs. Wolves
This was certainly a game that you would have expected Chelsea to win. The Old Gold are in dire straits at the moment, currently without a manager and with just two points to their name in the Premier League.
However, one player who could not capitalise on that poor form was striker Liam Delap. The former Ipswich Town star was starting his first top-flight game since the 30th of August, but looked far from his best.
L. Delap
It was a game that Delap simply couldn’t get into. He played just over an hour before being replaced by Estavao.
In that time, the 22-year-old managed just 15 touches, fewer than goalkeeper Robert Sanchez (30), completed six from seven attempted passes, and had two shots.
Delap stats vs. Wolves
Stat
Touches
Passes completed
Ground duels won
Touches in Wolves box
Shots
Expected goals
Stats from Fotmob
Dom Smith of The Standard, noted how lacklustre Delap’s performance was against Wolves. He gave him a 5/10 for his efforts, explaining that he 'struggled with the physicality' of the Old Gold backline.
It will be interesting to see if Maresca keeps faith in Delap or decides to rotate him out of the side after the international break. The Blues have options up front, with Marc Guiu and Joao Pedro capable of leading the line, and Neto operating there late in the game.
Delap
It may well take the Englishman a few games to get back up to speed. After such a long lay-off with injury, perhaps there was too much expectation for him to hit the ground running.
However, against what is a Wolves team in disarray, this felt like a good opportunity to make a nuisance of himself and even bag a goal.
Maresca has some alternative options if he does decide to switch things up at centre-forward. Delap certainly left a lot to be desired with his showing against the Old Gold.