Matheus Cunha’s hat-trick for Wolverhampton Wanderers once again laid bare Chelsea’s defensive weaknesses as the visitors rallied from behind to clinch a 4-2 victory at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
This loss marked Chelsea’s second consecutive game conceding four goals, following their 4-1 defeat to Liverpool just days before, putting added pressure on coach Mauricio Pochettino.
Chelsea started brightly, taking the lead in the 20th minute with a fine goal from Cole Palmer, his 10th for the club in the Premier League. However, just two minutes later, Joao Gomes found Cunha, whose shot deflected off Chelsea’s Thiago Silva to level the score.
Wolves grabbed their second just before halftime with a shot from Rayan Ait-Nouri, which deflected off Axel Disasi and went down as an own goal, leaving Chelsea’s goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic wrongfooted.
Chelsea 2-4 Wolves Highlights | Premier League
Despite Chelsea’s efforts to push forward, their defensive disarray was evident. Thiago Silva, at 39, struggled with pace, while his younger defensive counterparts lacked experience and cohesion.
Cunha extended Wolves’ lead to 3-1 in the second half after a swift break led by Pedro Neto, before converting a penalty in the 82nd minute following a foul by Malo Gusto.
Silva managed to pull one back for Chelsea with a header late in the game, but the damage was done, with many home supporters already leaving the stadium.
The defeat intensified pressure on Mauricio Pochettino, as Chelsea slipped to 11th in the table, with Wolves moving ahead to 10th.
Pochettino admitted that confidence was lacking among the players and performances were below par.
“The pressure and stress to win, to play well, and to perform are felt by everyone,” Pochettino said. “We are not meeting expectations at the moment. We need to accept criticism and improve.”
The crowd even began chanting the name of former coach Jose Mourinho, who had recently been sacked by AS Roma, highlighting the dissatisfaction among the Chelsea faithful.
This victory marked Wolves’ first win at Stamford Bridge since 1979 and their first league double over Chelsea since 1975, having beaten them 2-1 at home on Dec. 24.
