Chelsea on Monday overcame a howler from goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to beat relegation-threatened Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1, ending a five-match winless run to climb back into the English Premier League’s top four.
Enzo Maresca’s team were just two points behind leaders Liverpool in the middle of last month, raising hopes of an unlikely title challenge, before losing their way.
Now they are back on track to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League after second-half goals from Marc Cucurella and Noni Madueke spared Sanchez’s blushes.
Photo: AP
The Spanish goalkeeper had dropped the ball moments before halftime, allowing Matt Doherty to cancel out Tosin Adarabioyo’s opener.
Maresca said Chelsea had dominated the first 40 minutes before problems that have haunted them in recent weeks returned.
“We lost a little bit of confidence, we conceded a goal and we started to struggle a little bit, and then the second half I think we started quite well, and then after the second and third goals the game was in control,” Maresca told Sky Sports. “In the past five games we didn’t win, but I said many times that the performance was there. We created many chances, we didn’t score, and tonight finally we scored three goals.”
Chelsea’s top scorer Cole Palmer, a doubt before the game, was fit to start as Maresca made five changes from last week’s draw against AFC Bournemouth, including bringing in centerback Trevoh Chalobah, recalled from his loan spell at Crystal Palace.
The hosts dominated possession in the early stages and Palmer had a couple of early efforts, curling one wide and forcing Jose Sa into a diving save.
The home side were rewarded for their dominance midway through the first half when Adarabioyo fired home for his first Premier League goal for the club.
The defender controlled the ball well after it was deflected into his path from Reece James’ shot from the edge of the penalty area.
A number of Chelsea players were in offside positions in a crowded penalty area and the flag was raised, but the on-field decision was overturned after a video assistant referee check.
Wolves, anemic in attack for most of the first half, came back into the game as halftime approached, scoring with their first shot on target thanks to Sanchez’s error.
The visitors won a corner and the goalkeeper dropped the inswinging delivery from Matheus Cunha under intense pressure when he could have punched clear, with Doherty poking home.
Chelsea started the second half brightly and were back in front on the hour mark when Cucurella hooked home on the stretch after Madueke’s cross was flicked on by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
Five minutes later, Chelsea had a two-goal cushion when Madueke scored his fourth goal of the season against Wolves, heading home Chalobah’s goal-bound effort.
Sanchez palmed a Cunha shot behind with 10 minutes to go, but Chelsea were largely comfortable despite the occasional minor scare, and leapfrogged Newcastle United and Manchester City, whom they face next.
Former Leicester City head coach Maresca, in his first season in charge at Stamford Bridge, stubbornly insisted his team were not in the title race even when they were flying high after five straight wins from late November last year.
Starting with a 0-0 draw at Everton just before Christmas, they took just three points from five games before returning to winning ways on Monday.
Wolves, who have conceded a league-high 51 goals, are outside the relegation zone on goal-difference alone after three straight defeats following a bright start for new head coach Vitor Pereira.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS