Chelsea claimed their first late goal first division victory of 2025 on Monday night, successfully overcoming a Wolverhampton Wanderers team desperate to defend set pieces.
Enzo Maresca had not seen his team emerge victorious in a league context since a narrow victory over Brentford on December 15, more than a month earlier, without collecting maximum points in five games against Everton, Fulham, Ipswich City, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth.
The Blues took the lead on this goal, Tosin Adarabioyo’s first league goal as a Chelsea player, with a VAR assist confirming the centre-back was in play after the goal was initially ruled out.
The always up and down Robert Sanchez missed what should have been an easy catch from a corner in first-half stoppage time that gave Wolves a lifeline when Matt Doherty came on. But Marc Cucurella’s unorthodox close-range finish on his 100th Premier League appearance restored Chelsea’s lead on the hour and they never looked back from that moment.
Noni Madueke scored against Wolves for the fourth time this season, having scored a hat-trick in the first leg and harshly stealing a header from retired Trevoh Chalobah. Nicolas Jackson also had the ball in the net later, only to see an offside flag raised correctly.
|
Player |
Classification |
|---|---|
|
Goalkeeper: Robert Sánchez |
6.2/10 |
|
RB: Reece James (c) |
8.3/10 |
|
CB: Tosin Adarabioyo |
8.0/10 |
|
CB: Trevoh Chalobah |
8.4/10 |
|
LB: Marc Cucurella |
8.0/10 |
|
CM: Kiernan Dewsbury-Corredor |
7.4/10 |
|
CM: Moisés Caicedo |
7.5/10 |
|
RM: Noni Maduke |
7.4/10 |
|
I am: Cole Palmer |
7.0/10 |
|
LM: Pedro Neto |
6.4/10 |
|
ST: Nicholas Jackson |
6.9/10 |
|
SUB: Jadon Sancho (62′ by Neto) |
6.4/10 |
|
SUB: Bad Taste (77′ for Dewsbury-Corridor) |
6.7/10 |
|
SUB: Axel Díaz (77′ from James) |
6.2/10 |
|
SUB: Joao Félix (84′ from Palmer) |
N/A |
|
SUB: Tyrique George (84′ for Madueke) |
N/A |
Unused substitutes: Filip Jorgensen (Goalkeeper), Josh Acheampong, Christopher Nkunku, Marc Guiu.
|
Player |
Classification |
|---|---|
|
Goalkeeper: José Sa |
6.2/10 |
|
CB: Matt Doherty |
7.6/10 |
|
CB: Santiago Bueno |
5.5/10 |
|
CB: Emmanuel Agbadou |
6.4/10 |
|
RM: Nelson Semedo (c) |
6.0/10 |
|
CM: Andrés |
6.2/10 |
|
CM: João Gomes |
8.0/10 |
|
LM: Rayan Ait-Nouri |
6.7/10 |
|
AM: Pablo Sarabia |
6.3/10 |
|
AM: Matheus Cunha |
6.6/10 |
|
ST: Jörgen Strand Larsen |
6.2/10 |
|
SUB: Gonçalo Guedes (74′ from Sarabia) |
6.0/10 |
|
SUB: Rodrigo Gomes (74′ by Ait-Nouri) |
6.7/10 |
|
SUB: Jean-Ricner Bellegarde (74′ from André) |
6.0/10 |
Unused substitutes: Sam Johnstone (GK), Craig Dawson, Pedro Lima, Thomas Doyle, Carlos Forbs, Hwang Hee-chan.
