Pedro and Costa bare teeth to tame Wolves
Lambert’s men make them sweat but Chelsea find a way to stay on track for the Double
IT HAD all the ingredients: a famous old ground packed and passionate, a Championship side buoyed by two previous Premier League scalps playing well above themselves again and the Premier League leaders, with seven changes made and their eyes seemingly on greater triumphs, distinctly perturbed.
And yet Antonio Conte and Chelsea didn’t catch the romantic mood of the day. They looked like they might submit. Wolves’ Helder Costa looked like he might be the man of the moment. But cold-hearted Chelsea are simply too clinical at present to be indulgent.
After all, there is a Premier League and FA Cup double to aim for in the absence of European football. Carlo Ancelotti managed that in his first season at the club in 2010. At present there seems no reason why Conte shouldn’t do the same.
Chelsea weren’t especially good yesterday. They performed some way below their Premier League standard, though Cesc Fabregas was excellent. But they were good enough. When their moment came, with the extraordinarily swift counter-attacking goal scored by Pedro, they were excellent. Better sides than Wolves would have failed to contain that break on 65 minutes.
They finished it all off on 89 minutes when N’Golo Kante, driving into the penalty area, provoked a loose clearance which fell for Diego Costa to score from close range. Molineux, almost to a man and woman, stood and applauded; not the goal, but the efforts of their team.
Paul Lambert’s Wolves had harried and pressed and given their all. But against this Chelsea side, that merely buys you the right to compete. Victories require much more.
Chelsea have just one defeat in 19 games, so you might have expected Conte to go easy on Wolves. But with Diego Costa and Eden Hazard in the side, and the ‘B’ team replacements including Fabregas and John Terry, that was not the case. Wolves, though, as befitted the spirit of the day, did not allow Chelsea to rest on their laurels. A full house at Molineux ensured the Premier League leaders were subjected to an appropriately robust and difficult first half.
Warning was served in the second minute when Conor Coady’s swirling cross forced Asmir Begovic to back-track and tip the ball over the bar. But their best chance came shortly afterwards, Kurt Zouma failing to deal with a Wolves cross and the ball falling kindly for former Chelsea trainee George Saville.
The ball fairly flew off his foot as he connected sweetly on the volley, but the shot skewed a fraction and rebounded off the inside of the post. Molineux roared, their side responded and Chelsea were suitably rattled.
Not so rattled that they could not respond, however. Fabregas, who retained composure in midfield amid the freneticism, threaded a delightful throughball after 12 minutes. Willian took it down but his attempt to lift it over Carl Ikeme was unconvincing and Chelsea’s best first-half chance was deflected for a corner.
But Wolves were in the ascendancy, disrupting Chelsea’s patterns of passing with a commendable energy. The home fans screamed for a penalty on 21 minutes when Willian barged into Andreas Weimann. Referee Jon Moss was unmoved but Willian was fortunate. Helder Costa, a star in Wolves’ win at Anfield, was flying down the left wing, giving Nathan Ake and wingback Pedro a tricky evening’s work. He cut inside to shoot on 28 miniutes but was blocked by Begovic.
And Wolves went close again on 36 minutes when Matt Doherty was released to the byline and dinked in a cross. Jon Dadi Bodvarsson jumped to try to nod it in but it just cleared his head.
And though Chelsea were resisting stoutly, panicked passes were creeping in as Wolves’ tempo showed no sign of diminishing. Weimann, Helder Costa and Saville in particular gave them no rest but Danny Batth and Kortney Hause were equally impressive at the back marshalling Diego Costa. Half-time brought little respite for Chelsea. Wolves still impressed, much the quicker to the ball in midfield, much the hungrier to chase down chances. Hazard had barely had a chance to impose himself on the game; Diego Costa was fighting a running battle with Hause and Batth but seemingly to no avail.
Pedro and Zouma both tried longrange strikes early in the second half but neither worried Ikeme. Meanwhile, Helder Costa was proving so troublesome that Pedro resorted to the simple hack, which resulted in a yellow card.
On the hour, Batth tested Begovic again, connecting with Helder Costa’s floated free-kick but heading straight into the Chelsea keeper’s hands. A minute later it looked as though Wolves’ commendable work would be undone, Diego Costa finally finding a way past Batth, turning past him and creating a precious yard of space to shoot, but he hit the side-netting.
Yet this Chelsea side can be so clinical, even when not at their best. They only need a moment, Costa chasing down a floated long ball and knocking it back to Hazard. He in turn found Willian, who looked up and saw Pedro, having raced 60 yards to catch up, closing in at the far post. Wolves simply couldn’t cope with the speed of the counter and were exposed. Willian lifted the ball across the area and Pedro headed it home.
Diego Costa then finished Wolves off just before the end.