After being constantly booed by the home crowd for a disparaging social media post about Wolverhampton, Noni Madueke responded with a second-half hat trick to give Chelsea their first English Premier League win under manager Enzo Maresca.
Madueke netted three goals in a 14-minute span — all of them assisted by Cole Palmer — to spark a 6-2 win over Wolves on Sunday that at times had the same kind of chaotic feel that envelops most things at Chelsea these days.
However, the emphatic second-half performance also indicated that Maresca might already be figuring out how to use the wealth of attacking talent at his disposal — and overshadowed a more routine 2-0 win for Liverpool against Brentford in new manager Arne Slot’s first game at Anfield.
Photo: Reuters
Madueke’s hat trick capped a day where he had already drawn headlines for an Instagram post that used an expletive to describe “everything about this place” after Chelsea arrived in Wolverhampton.
While he later deleted the post, Wolves fans let him know they did not appreciate the sentiment and booed him every time they got the chance.
However, Madueke was apologetic to Wolverhampton residents after the game, and his opinion about the West Midlands city seemed to have improved after the hat trick.
“Obviously it was a mistake, and I’m sure that Wolverhampton is a great town,” Madueke said, adding that he would not be posting on Instagram again any time soon.
“I’ll be giving my social media accounts to my manager, I think,” he said. “I think I’m just going to leave the social media.”
Elsewhere, Slot has clearly brought his own style of play to Anfield, but there were still shades of former Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp in the way Liverpool secured the win.
Liverpool’s goals came from a lightning counterattack and a clinical finish from Mohamed Salah — two of the things that fans at Anfield became very used to seeing under Klopp.
However, there are some clear differences.
Just like Slot does not have the German manager’s energetic mannerisms on the touchline — and there were no post-game fist pumps toward the Kop, only applause and a wave — his team also shows more composure in possession rather than the all-out blitz often deployed under his predecessor.
According to stats provider Opta, Liverpool completed 92 percent of their passes against Brentford, their highest percentage in the Premier League since at least 2003-2004.
A tougher test would come next weekend when Liverpool visit archrival Manchester United.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth were denied a late winner by a disputed video assistant referee decision and had to settle for a 1-1 draw at home against Newcastle.
Dango Ouattara thought he had secured the win for Bournemouth with a header in injury time, but it was disallowed for handball even though the ball hit the upper part of the arm.
Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola was left “very frustrated” by the decision.
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