Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 Chelsea (24 Dec, 2023) Game Analysis

Wolves continued their excellent home form to cause misery to Chelsea on Christmas Eve with a 2-1 Premier League victory on Sunday, thanks to second-half strikes from Mario Lemina and Matt Doherty.

After a scoreless first half, Lemina headed in a Pablo Sarabia corner six minutes after half-time to give Wolves the lead before Doherty secured victory with a second goal in injury time while Christopher Nkunku scored his first goal for Chelsea.

– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (US)

– Chelsea notes: Attackers miss against Wolves but Nkunku offers hope

Wolves, undefeated at home in the league since September, moved up to 11th with 22 points, level with Chelsea, 10th, but behind the London team on goal difference.

Chelsea have now lost four consecutive away games as Mauricio Pochettino's side suffered their eighth league defeat of the season.

“We are very disappointed because we deserve much more. We are not clinical enough. We created chances and had possession,” Pochettino said.

“They are a young team and many players are playing in the Premier League for the first time. They have to adapt. We have to learn from these matches. We are in a position that Chelsea should not be in.”

Chelsea's best chance of the first half fell to Raheem Sterling who stole the ball from last man João Gomes and sprinted into the Wolves box with only goalkeeper José Sá to beat.

Sterling went to the finish himself despite two teammates, including Cole Palmer, being unmarked to his right. The shot was blocked by Sa, wasting the three-on-one opportunity.

Chelsea paid for their waste six minutes after half-time when Lemina was left badly marked and his header from Pablo Sarabia's corner sailed into the net.

“It's amazing, the support we have here is fantastic. Hopefully we can keep moving forward and make the fans happy,” Lemina told Sky Sports.

Wolves doubled their lead when Benoit Badiashile failed to deal with Hugo Bueno's cross and an unmarked Matt Doherty guided his shot past Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.

“[The second goal was] very important because they scored a goal at the end. I tend to have a knack in my career of being in the right place at the right time and I put that aside,” Doherty said in his post-match interview.

“The kind of atmosphere around the stadium. Our record against the top six teams is good. We have beaten most of them here and away. We are doing very well.”

Nkunku's header in injury time raised hopes of a comeback, but Chelsea failed to equalize.