Wolves 2-1 Chelsea: Blues fall short on Christmas Eve as Mario Lemina and Matt Doherty strikes consign Mauricio Pochettino’s men to an EIGHTH defeat of the season

When the teams were announced before the match, the announcer at Molineux said: “Let’s get this Christmas party started” and thanks to Mario Lemina’s second-half header and Matt Doherty’s injury-time goal, Christmas came early for the home faithful with victory over Chelsea.

Victory for Gary O’Neill’s side leveled them on points with Chelsea and Christopher Nkunku’s late goal on his Premier League debut was ultimately little more than a consolation as Mauricio Pochettino’s side suffered their eighth defeat of the season.

It’s fair to say there wasn’t much pre-match excitement about this match – it’s the first Premier League game to be played on Christmas Eve since 1995.

Pochettino insisted he was “unhappy” to have been forced to miss his wedding anniversary on the 23rd, with Gary O’Neill writing in his program notes that “it was an inconvenience for some”.

The Football Supporters’ Association said the Christmas Eve game was “an unwanted gift that no one asked for” and dissatisfaction with the schedule was so great that when dates for next season were announced earlier this week, the Premier League included a line saying: ” There will be no match on December 24, 2024.”

But when thirty thousand fans descended on Molineux for the first top-flight game in 28 years on Christmas Eve, it was another reminder of the vitality of a game so often taken for granted.

With more than a billion pounds spent since Todd Boehli bought the club in May last year, 3,000 Chelsea Santa hats would hardly break Boehli’s budget.

Whatever the case, the fans who traveled north to Wolverhampton were given a celebratory memento, but the first half was a tale of disappointment amid what appeared to be a one-man mission for Raheem Sterling.

He shone, but somehow the game remained scoreless at half-time.

Just five minutes later, a fine run from Sterling allowed Armando Broja to break inside and had only to beat the goalkeeper, but Mario Lemina slid in with a perfect tackle to deny the Albanian, who replaced Mikhail Mudrik as one of three Chelsea changes. .

Lemina stood up and punched the air to celebrate as if he had scored.

Broya then failed to get a shot from inside the box when Mario Gusto set him up on the right flank after another brilliant effort from Sterling.

And Sterling’s frustration was evident when he made a superb cross to Nicholas Jackson, who was free in the box but failed to control the ball.

On the half-hour mark, another marauding attack from Sterling was interrupted by a cynical challenge from Lemina on the edge of the box, which deservedly earned the Gabonese defender a booking.

Sterling’s free-kick failed to test Jose Sa but should have given Chelsea the lead soon after.

Sa, returning to the team after injury, passed the ball to Joao Gomez, who had his back to goal, but the ball was saved by none other than Sterling. who took a clean shot on goal and chose to go himself rather than give the ball to Cole Palmer or Jackson.

Had he finished the game it would have been a justifiable decision and more than understandable given the profligacy of his teammates, but the 29-year-old was denied by a brilliant save from Sa. Palmer and Jackson looked furious. And Pochettino too. Sterling should have made a square bet.

Yet Chelsea were somewhat fortunate not to trail at the break. Pablo Sarabia’s shot towards goal was deflected away by Thiago Silva for a corner before Hwang Hee-Chan struck over the crossbar as he broke through the Chelsea defensive line to ensure Chelsea remained the only team in the Premier League , which does not lag behind in the half of the field. – once this season.

This statistic will surprise many, but after the restart they were six minutes behind.

Chelsea’s midweek hero Djordje Petrovic saved Toti’s header with a stunning goal, but minutes later the goalkeeper was hesitant to step up for Pablo Sarabia’s decisive corner. And Petrovich could do nothing to prevent Lemina’s glancing header.

This was the 16th consecutive top flight match at Molineux in which Wolves had scored, matching the club’s record from the 1969–70 season.

Chelsea’s frustration grew when Palmer was booked for kicking the ball, meaning he would miss the next game against Crystal Palace, and just before the hour mark Pochettino turned to Nkunku from the bench following Leslie Ugochukwu’s injury. Nkunku and Mudrik replaced Ugochukwu and Broja.

Sterling had his penalty appeal turned down, which appeared to anger Jackson, who fell to the ground in disbelief and then received a yellow card for disagreeing with referee David Coote.

Counting Gusteau’s warning, Pochettino’s men received three bookings in six minutes of the second half.

Yet they were unlucky not to equalize when Toti denied Nkunku a goal with a clearance off the line.

Goal detection technology showed that part of the ball had crossed the line, but Toti was there in time.

Sterling was then denied by a superb tackle from Craig Dawson, who was then forced off with injury with 20 minutes left.

With ten minutes remaining, Pochettino made three final changes in the hope of salvaging at least a point, and when eleven minutes of extra time were announced there were groans around Molineux.

Those groans turned to cheers as the two substitutes brought in to finish the game teamed up to end the game.

Matt Doherty finished the game with a calm goal after good work from Hugo Bueno on the left flank.

Chelsea fans headed for the early exit and although Nkunku pulled back his first Chelsea goal to provide a glimmer of hope, it was little more than a consolation.

And when Sterling was booked for diving in the closing stages, meaning he will be suspended for Wednesday’s match at Stamford Bridge, it summed up the story of a dark day in the Midlands for Chelsea.

It’s a massive three points for Wolves, who were bottom of the table at Christmas last year.