Matheus Cunha scored a hat-trick as Wolverhampton Wanderers produced an impressive 4-2 victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
It was the Blues who took the lead through Cole Palmer as he scored his 10th Premier League goal of the season, but Wolves turned the match around through a deflected Cunha strike and an Axel Disasi own goal.
Cunha then added his second and third goals in the second half before Thiago Silva scored a consolation goal for Chelsea, as Wolves secured a first Premier League double over their opponents.
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How the match unfolded
Chelsea made two changes from their 4-1 loss at Liverpool on Wednesday, with Christopher Nkunku and Malo Gusto coming in for Noni Madueke and Benoit Badiashile.
After their last-gasp defeat to Manchester United on Thursday, Wolves made three alterations to their line-up as Joao Gomes, Pablo Sarabia and Rayan Alt-Nouri came into the XI.
Both teams created early chances, with Wolves’ Cunha and Pedro Neto forcing saves from Djordje Petrovic while Nkunku clipped the ball over Jose Sa, but was unable to tap in.
Palmer opened the scoring in the 20th minute, producing a fine right-footed finish across goal after being played in by Moises Caicedo.
That made it 10 goals in the Premier League this season for Palmer, who at the age of 21 years and 274 days became the youngest Chelsea player to produce double figures in a single campaign, breaking the record set by Arjen Robben (21 years and 342 days).
Wolves didn’t let that goal deflate them, though, and were level only two minutes later. Caicedo was dispossessed by Joao Gomes, who passed the ball to Cunha. He cut inside before producing a strike that took a huge deflection off Thiago Silva and wrongfooted Petrovic.
Moments before half-time, Wolves took the lead through Disasi inadvertently deflecting Ait-Nouri’s effort past Petrovic.
Chelsea brought on Nicolas Jackson, returning from the Africa Cup of Nations after Senegal were knocked out, as they sought an equaliser.
But it was Wolves who struck next as Cunha scored his second, sweeping the ball past Petrovic from Neto’s cutback, for the Portuguese winger’s eighth assist of the season.
Jackson did have a chance to halve the deficit moments later, but his close-range header went wide.
Cunha completed his hat-trick on 82 minutes, from a penalty he won by being fouled by Gusto.
It made him only the fourth visiting player to score a Premier League hat-trick at Stamford Bridge, after Arsenal’s Kanu (1999) and Robin van Persie (2011), and Sergio Aguero for Manchester City in 2016.
Chelsea did get a consolation goal with four minutes remaining as Thiago Silva rose highest to convert Mykhailo Mudryk’s corner, but that was all.
Wolves' fourth win in six matches move them on to 32 points, leapfrogging Chelsea into 10th.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
38 | -1 | 60 |
| 9 |
West Ham
WHU
|
38 | -14 | 52 |
| 10 |
Crystal Palace
CRY
|
38 | -1 | 49 |
| 11 |
Brighton
BHA
|
38 | -7 | 48 |
Chelsea report | Wolves report
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Key facts
Chelsea have conceded four or more goals in four different Premier League matches this season, their most in a single campaign since 1990/91, when they also did so four times. They’ve conceded four or more in consecutive league fixtures for a second time under Mauricio Pochettino, something that hadn’t happened since December 1989 prior to his arrival.
Cunha has been directly involved in 18 goals across all competitions for Wolves this season (11 goals, seven assists), the most by any player for the club in a single campaign since 2019/20, when three players did it: Raul Jimenez (37), Diogo Jota (22) and Adama Traore 18).
At 39 years and 135 ddays Thiago Silva became the oldest player to score a Premier League goal since Dean Windass (39y 235d) for Hull City v Portsmouth in November 2008.
This was the first time Chelsea had opened the scoring but gone in behind at half-time of a Premier League home match since April 2021 (when they lost 5-2 to West Brom). It was also only the second time they have been behind at the break in a Premier League game this season (also v Liverpool and Wolves) – the fewest of any team.