Stamford Bridge—Malo Gusto’s first goal for Chelsea set the Blues on their way to a 3–0 win at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday night which took them up to second place in the Premier League.
Chelsea rattled off 11 shots, forced three fine saves and mounted wave after wave of attack only to be held goalless at the half-time interval by the managerless visitors. Step forward, Gusto. On the 165th appearance of his senior career, the French fullback scored for the first time to break the deadlock six minutes into the second half.
João Pedro is more familiar with the back of the net and nabbed his second in as many Premier League appearances in the 65th minute shortly before Pedro Neto got in on the act against his former club.
The Blues had begun the game ninth in the table yet ended Saturday with only a wobbling Arsenal ahead of them. Wolves, as ever, remain rooted to the foot of a division they may not call their own next season.
Chelsea Player Ratings vs. Wolves (4-2-3-1)
Malo Gusto scores the first goal of his professional career. pic.twitter.com/uSMZXcCSYz
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) November 8, 2025
GK: Robert Sánchez—7.2: The commanding aerial display against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend proved not to be a fluke.
RB: Malo Gusto—8.2: A night to savour for his goal rather than the somewhat erratic defending and positioning which will be quickly forgotten.
CB: Wesley Fofana—7.7: Simply leaving Strand Larsen to his own unsuccessful attempts to control the ball proved to be an effective method of defence for Fofana.
CB: Trevoh Chalobah—7.2: Solid if unspectacular in the face of uninspiring opposition.
LB: Marc Cucurella—7.6: Unusually uninvolved in the game’s big talking points, sitting off in midfield while Garnacho pirouetted away on his own out wide.
CM: Moisés Caicedo—7.8: Arguably the Premier League’s standout midfielder is playing a different game to everyone else. Caicedo seems to shuffle across towards the player receiving a pass before the ball has even been played, hounding after a loose touch while the very idea of bringing it under control is only beginning to form.
CM: Enzo Fernández—7.8: Cantered forward frequently and eagerly without quite being rewarded for his attacking endeavour.
AM: João Pedro—8.2: Much more free to drop deep with the presence of Liam Delap upfront ahead of him, yet it was just after the hulking forward had left the pitch that Pedro got his goal.
RW: Pedro Neto—8.4: Up against his former employers, Neto did not have the beating of Hugo Bueno for pace or trickery as he worked his way back from injury, but conspired to simply shove him off the ball with some success.
ST: Liam Delap—6.6: Had more joy as a decoy than anything else.
LW: Alejandro Garnacho—8.6: Dutifully whirled his legs over the ball every chance he got, dutifully undeterred by several missteps to tee up two goals.
Subs not used: Filip Jörgensen (GK), Jorrel Hato, Josh Acheampong, Tosin Adarabioyo.
Wolverhampton Wanderers (5-3-2)
Starting XI: Sam Johnstone; Jackson Tchatchoua, Santi Bueno, Ladislav Krejčí, Toti Gomes, Hugo Bueno; Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, André, João Gomes; Jørgen Strand Larsen, Hwang Hee-chan.
Subs used: Marshall Munetsi, Mateus Mane,
Subs not used: José Sá (GK), David Møller Wolfe, Ki-Jana Hoever, Yerson Mosquera, Tawanda Chirewa, Jhon Arias, Tolu Arokodare.
Player of the Match: Alejandro Garnacho (Chelsea)
Chelsea 3–0 Wolves: How It Unfolded at Stamford Bridge
“If you listen to everybody out there, it’s like Wolves are down,” the visitors’ interim boss James Collins moaned ahead of the first match in his temporary reign. Those in old gold certainly played with an air of apathy about them.
Chelsea swamped the side which props up the Premier League. Alejandro Garnacho was clean through on goal inside the opening five minutes, conspiring to divert a volley straight at Sam Johnstone’s midriff. The well-worked goalkeeper was also on hand to tip away two crisp efforts from Enzo Fernández bound for either top corner in a first half so one-sided Wolves didn’t even have a shot.
There are several good elements to these relegation candidates. Ladislav Krejčí, stepping into midfield out of the middle of the back three, has played Champions League football this calendar year. André and João Gomes are two of the division’s silkier passers while Jørgen Strand Larsen scored more non-penalty Premier League goals last season (14) than any Chelsea player.
Yet a distinct lack of confidence overwhelmed that innate quality.
Krejčí was constantly on the verge of getting robbed of possession, Gomes seemed painfully reticent to cross the halfway line and Strand Larsen spent the contest battling against his own coordination (or lack thereof) as much as the Chelsea backline.
Garnacho is starting to have fun with his new friends. pic.twitter.com/jVHsJ9uKZ9
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) November 8, 2025
Despite their suffocating dominance, Chelsea trotted into the half-time interval still level at 0–0, prompting a smattering of boos. The Blues eventually took an entirely deserved lead in the 51st minute through that most unlikely source; Gusto. Crashing in at the back post, the 22-year-old met Garnacho’s arcing cross with the confidence of a seasoned scorer. In reality, it was his first goal at any level since finding the net for Lyon’s B team four years ago in front of 729 spectators.
The 40,000 in attendance on Saturday were soon treated to a flurry of goals which could really have arrived a lot earlier. Pedro was on hand to sweep in Chelsea’s second five minutes after the hour mark, gobbling up a loose ball which was the result of Estêvão’s mischievous low cross a matter of seconds after his introduction from the bench.
Neto, who retained his position on the right flank while Estêvão was deployed in a new central role, capped off a blistering counterattack which punctured what little hope Wolves had briefly harboured in the 73rd minute.
Marc Guiu found time to squander two golden opportunities to bolster his own modest goal haul in Chelsea colours yet there were few complaints with a victory which leaves the Blues second, six points adrift of Arsenal.
Chelsea vs. Wolves Half-Time Stats
Chelsea vs. Wolves Full Time Stats
READ THE LATEST PREMIER LEAGUE NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS AND GOSSIP
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chelsea Player Ratings vs. Wolves: Unlikeliest Source Inspires Surge Up the Table.
