Wolves 1 (Arokodare 54) Chelsea 3 (Palmer 13, 35, 38)
Wolves were punished by a decisive Chelsea first half, as three goals before the break condemned Rob Edwards’ side to another Premier League defeat.
Cole Palmer netted twice from the penalty spot inside 35 minutes, before completing a first-half hat-trick to round off a miserable first 45 minutes for the Old Gold.
Wolves put on an improved display in the second half, which saw Tolu Arokodare reduce the deficit early in the second half, but the hosts were ultimately left with too big of a task.
Edwards handed full debuts to deadline day signings Angel Gomes and Adam Armstrong, and the home side began brightly at Molineux.
However, it was the visitors who snatched the lead after 13 minutes, which saw the game turn on its head. Joao Pedro was brought down inside the penalty area by Matt Doherty, and Palmer made no mistake from 12 yards out.
Chelsea grew in confidence and applied sustained pressure at that point. Malo Gusto struck at goal from close range, but a superb one-handed save from Jose Sa turned it around the post.
Wolves were on the wrong end of another penalty decision on 35 minutes when Jarred Gillett pointed to the spot. Pedro was fouled once more, this time by Yerson Mosquera, and Palmer converted from the spot for a second time.
The home side’s afternoon was further compounded just three minutes later. Marc Cucurella’s low cut-back found Palmer in space, and the forward lashed an effort into the roof of the net to leave Wolves an uphill battle heading into the interval.
Half-time | Wolves 0-3 Chelsea
Wolves knew an early second-half goal would be vital to any hopes of a comeback, and they emerged showing clear signs of intent.
They were almost immediately rewarded when Mateus Mane lifted a deft effort goalwards, only to see his curling effort hit the post. From the resulting corner, Armstrong flicked on from the near post, and Arokodare was perfectly placed to turn home from just a few yards out.
Wolves’ revival continued and Yerson Mosquera was next to try his luck. He met Angel Gomes’ in swinging delivery and had Sanchez interested, but his header dropped onto the roof of the net.
The second half was a marked improvement from the home side, limiting Chelsea to just one attempt at goal up until the 80th minute. However, despite their effort and energy, clear chances remained hard to come by for Wolves.
Edwards’ side pushed until the final whistle but were ultimately unable to trouble the scoreline. Rodrigo Gomes came closest to a second for Wolves during stoppage time, but his close-range header was comfortably gathered by Sanchez, bringing a frustrating afternoon at Molineux to a close.
Full-time | Wolves 1-3 Chelsea
Wolves | Sa, Doherty (R Gomes 46), S Bueno, Mosquera, H Bueno, J Gomes (Lima 90+1), A Gomes (Bellegarde 79), Mane, Hwang (Krejci 43), Arokodare, Armstrong.
Unused subs | Johnstone, Wolfe, Tchatchoua, Rawlings, Edozie.
Chelsea | Sanchez, Gusto (Acheampong 74), Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella, Santos (Hato 84), Caicedo, Palmer (Garnacho 60), Enzo, Neto, Pedro (Delap 74).
Unused subs | Sharman-Lowe, Badiashille, Sarr, Estevao, Guiu.
By Callum Greybanks
