3 hours ago
5
It would be easy to paint this as a Cole Palmer masterclass, the Chelsea midfielder completing his hat-trick inside the opening 38 minutes, but it is fair to say by the time he was substituted on the hour, his work was done. At that point it was 3-1 to the visitors, Wolves pulling a goal back early in the second half when Tolu Arokodare spun in the box to convert at a corner.
From there, if not earlier, it was hard not to feel as though Chelsea were going through the motions. Palmer’s trio of cool finishes, two from the penalty spot, earned victory and his third, capping a slick team move, was surely the most pleasing for Liam Rosenior. Rosenior’s record as Chelsea head coach now reads seven wins in nine matches and four successive victories in the Premier League.
With fourth-placed Manchester United finding their groove under Michael Carrick and registering a fourth straight league win themselves, Chelsea, a point and a place behind them, knew the importance of keeping pace. Wolves must be sick of the sight of Chelsea, even if there was a slightly different look to the side that won the reverse fixture 3-0 at Stamford Bridge in November.
Palmer, of course, was the obvious absentee there and it was the same story when a youthful Chelsea side won here 4-3 in the Carabao Cup. Wolves have now lost their past four matches to Chelsea by an aggregate scoreline of 15-4 and that is without mentioning their 6-2 defeat at the start of last season.
Wolves began the better side but they crumbled after Matt Doherty, their captain, gave away a silly penalty. João Pedro was moseying away from José Sá’s goal but Doherty was overzealous and gave the Brazil forward a bump in the box that gave the referee, Jarred Gillett, little choice but to point to the penalty spot.
Palmer sent Sá the wrong way and covered his ears with his black gloves as he wheeled away towards the Chelsea supporters strewn across the lower bank of the Steve Bull Stand. Pedro Neto, who caused havoc for Hugo Bueno on his return to Molineux, was the catalyst for the move, burning past the Wolves left-back before sending the ball into the box.
Chelsea triumphed from their first meaningful attack and it seemed they would score from almost every one that followed. Such was the confidence flowing through the visitors, Enzo Fernández attempted a rabona, before being flagged offside. Malo Gusto tested Sá with a stinging shot towards the top corner and it seemed a matter of time before another goal came.
The galling thing for Rob Edwards and the Wolves support is that it was something of a gift, Yerson Mosquera’s brainless two-handed shove on João Pedro giving the officials another simple decision. The only thing to check was whether the foul was in the box. Once confirmed, Palmer removed his hands from his hips and dispatched the ball in the opposite corner. Every outfield Chelsea player joined the celebrations.
Chelsea’s third goal was crisp in every sense. Neto sent the ball across the field from right to left for Fernández and the Argentina midfielder spied the run of Marc Cucurella. When Cucurella cut the ball back for Palmer, a yard or so in front of the penalty spot, Palmer lashed a first-time finish into the roof of the net. A frustrated Sá made sure, wellying the ball into his side netting in anger. In driving rain, it threatened to descend into a truly humiliating afternoon.
Chelsea, however, were definitely drifting by the time Alejandro Garnacho, one of those hooked by Rosenior against West Ham last weekend, entered in place of Palmer. In fact, Palmer’s third was Chelsea’s last effort on goal. Wolves showed some fight. Arokodare reacted after reading the debutant Adam Armstrong’s cute backward header, his goal moments after Mateus Mané, a bright light in a gloomy season, struck the inside of a post. Robert Sánchez fumed at his defence.
