NET GAIN’S A BITTER BLOW FOR BLUES
FRANK LAMPARD fears his Chelsea players are already feeling festive fatigue after a last-gasp loss at Wolves on a night they were hoping to go top of the Premier League.
Pedro Neto struck in the fifth minute of stoppage-time to claim a 2-1 comeback win for the hosts.
Olivier Giroud had opened the scoring for Chelsea four minutes after the break before Daniel Podence’s deflected effort pulled Wolves level.
Victory would have propelled the visitors into top spot but instead they slipped to back-to-back league defeats for the first time in over a year.
Chelsea boss Lampard said: ‘ There could be some fatigue. I hate to say it after a defeat because it feels like an excuse but even in the first 60 minutes when we were the better team, we didn’t have a zip about us.
‘We have been given different kinds of games in these last two. Everton made it difficult for us to break them down – we didn’t succeed with that – and Wolves played very much a counter-attacking style.
‘ The players have to feel that on the pitch because the message was very clear about their counter-attack and individuals who could hurt us and that’s disappointing.’ Kurt Zouma’s header against the bar a minute before the break was the closest Chelsea came to an opener before Giroud broke the deadlock soon after half-time.
He got to Ben Chilwell’s cross before
Willy Boly and his volley squirmed past Rui Patricio and just over the line before the goalkeeper clawed it back.
But Chelsea failed to build on their lead and Wolves levelled after 66 minutes when Podence tricked Chilwell and Reece James before his shot hit James and flew past Edouard Mendy.
The hosts went for the win and thought they had a penalty ten minutes from time when James appeared to trip Neto but replays showed there was no contact. But Wolves did win it in stoppage-time when they hit Chelsea on the break and, after Neto took on Zouma, he drilled into the corner.
Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo said: ‘We always mention character when things go well and then we forget when things don’t go so well the character is still there.
‘Football is played until the last minute. When we work so hard like the boys did today we get our rewards.’
The message was clear about their counter attack and that’s disappointing