Chelsea breathed a huge sigh of relief when the final whistle sounded at Molineux in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Wednesday night, having just about seen off Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The visiting Blues, wearing all-white, raced into a 3–0 lead by half-time in the west midlands, thanks to strikes from Andrey Santos, Tyrique George and the again-impressive Estêvão.
But Wolves pulled two back through Tolu Arokodare and David Møller Wolfe to put enormous pressure on Enzo Maresca’s side. Jamie Gittens then restored a two-goal cushion late on, before Møller Wolfe’s second of the night made it a nervy finish.
It was another night of mass changes for Maresca, as had been the case last week in the Champions League against Ajax. Only Josh Acheampong kept his place from the surprise weekend defeat at the hands of Sunderland, with the boss looking to preserve freshness in the squad.
The game marked Liam Delap’s return from a lengthy injury absence since shortly after joining Chelsea, only for it to end in a red card for the overzealous striker.
Chelsea Player Ratings vs. Wolves (4-2-3-1)
GK: Filip Jörgensen—5.8: Not a confident start to the game, but he did make a huge save at 3–1 up that ultimately made a difference come the final whistle. A high claim deep into stoppage time as Wolves launched the ball into the box was also significant.
RB: Malo Gusto—7.4: A strong hour on the pitch. Chelsea were worse without him.
CB: Josh Acheampong—6.5: Did not have control of the situation when Wolves got their third goal, when it should have been his to deal with.
CB: Tosin Adarabioyo (c)—6.8: Chelsea fans are already on his back and this will not help. Missed a good headed chance to put the game to bed when Wolves were threatening. Weak and slow too often.
LB: Jorrel Hato—7.3: Finished with 95% passing accuracy and registered an assist.
CM: Roméo Lavia—6.6: Hardly misplaced a pass during his hour on the pitch, but his shift has a blot after being credited with an error led to Wolves pulling a goal back.
CM: Andrey Santos—8.5: Made the perfect start to the game with a drive forward and well-taken goal. His ability to sniff out a pressing opportunity made that goal, as well the Chelsea third.
RM: Estêvão—7.5: Continue to show that his capture was a stroke of genius from the recruitment department. Plays with confidence and composure belying his age and experience. Another fine goal here.
AM: Facundo Buonanotte—7.0: Saw a good amount of the ball from the No. 10 position but lacked the same level of creativity and threat as Estêvão and Gittens either side of him.
LM: Jamie Gittens—9.2: Wolves failed to defend particularly well against him, but the burst of pace the former Borussia Dortmund winger possesses made a big impact. Two assists.
ST: Tyrique George—7.6: Made the most of his opportunity once more. Scored a goal that demonstrated poacher instinct, before moving out wide later on.
Subs not used: Robert Sánchez (GK), Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Moisés Caicedo, João Pedro.
Wolverhampton Wanderers (4-1-4-1)
Starting XI: José Sá; Matt Doherty, Yerson Mosquera, Toti Gomes, David Møller Wolfe; Emmanuel Agbadou; Jackson Tchatchoua, João Gomes, Fer López, Hwang Hee-chan; Tolu Arokodare.
Subs used: Rodrigo Gomes, Ladislav Krejčí, Marshall Munetsi, Jørgen Strand Larsen, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde.
Player of the Match: Jamie Gittens
Wolves 3–4 Chelsea—How It Unfolded at Molineux
Chelsea fans waited just five minutes to their team go in front. It was poor from Wolves, sloppily giving up possession in their own half as the ball was picked up by Gittens and ran into the path of Santos. The Brazilian’s shot from 20 yards lacked much power, nor it was deep into the corner of the goal, and yet still easily beat a cumbersome José Sá in the home goal.
George’s second followed 10 minutes later and was firmly keeping with the run of play. Again, it was too easy, as Gittens was allowed to drive into a dangerous position down Chelsea’s left flank, before delivering the ball across the box that George tapped in from a few yards out.
It could have very quickly jumped to 3–0 when the same combination of Gittens and George popped up—this time the final touch lacked direction. But just as Wolves began to show up and gain a foothold of their own into the latter stages of the first half, it really was 3–0 in Chelsea’s favour.
Sá, easy to see why he had been benched for over a month before this one, left Fer López exposed with a pass that the defender under pressure facing his own goal. Santos was quickly on him to reclaim the ball for Chelsea and Estêvão nipped in to cheekily chip over the goalkeeper.
Even for a comfortable lead, Chelsea did look vulnerable at the other end. Arokodare squandered a good chance in the closing stages of the first half, before punishing the visitors shortly after the interval. Cutting in from the left, the Nigeria international bent his right-shot into the far corner. Roméo Lavia was responsible for putting his team under pressure with a poor pass.
With Wolves threatening to get back into the game after pulling that first goal back, Arokodare perhaps should have had a second goal with his third chance of the night an hour in, directing the ball the wrong side of the post from a good position after Hwang Hee-chan’s cross.
Wolves had been in the ascendancy since the third Chelsea goal and were only denied another when Filip Jørgensen’s fingertip save diverted an effort from Wolves substitute Jørgen Strand Larsen wide. Then, the lead suddenly was reduced to 3–2. The long-throw from Yerson Mosquera was flicked on three times by Wolves body parts, eventually reaching Møller Wolfe at the far post after Emmanuel Agbadou got the final touch. The left back, not picked up, drove in a precise half volley.
Delap was originally booked on 79 minutes for a foul on Mosquera, given his marching orders just six minutes later. It was reckless and unnecessary from the £30 million ($39.6 million) No. 9, throwing his body into Agbadou when the ball wasn’t there to be won.
The drama didn’t stop there. Gittens looked like he’d settled it for Chelsea after Jorrel Hato won a powerful header in midfield and the bouncing ball invited the winger to put his foot through it. He did just that from 20 yards, ricocheting off the inside of the near post as it flew in. That should have been it as far as Chelsea were concerned, yet weak defending and failure to clear the danger from both centre-backs as Wolves launched it forward handed a grateful Møller Wolfe his second goal of the night, a deflected effort that looped over Jørgensen.
Wolves vs. Chelsea Half-Time Stats
Wolves vs.Chelsea Full Time Stats
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chelsea Player Ratings vs. Wolves: Blues Squeeze Into Carabao Cup Last Eight After Throwing Away 3–0 Lead.
