Wolverhampton Wanderers put out their strongest lineup at home for this match, with backs Dawson, T. Gomes, Kilman, wingbacks Aït-Nouri, Semedo, backs Lemina, J. Gomes, and a trio of sharpshooters up front, Cunha, Sarabia, and Hwang Hee-Chan.
Chelsea
Injured troops have also been bursting at the seams following the injury to Enzo Fernández, the
Chelsea
Lining up in 4231, defenders T. Silva, Disasi, Gusto, Colwill, backs Gallagher, Ugochukwu, attacking midfielder Jackson, wings Palmer, Sterling, forwards Broja
(Pre-emptive link)
Things seemed a bit chaotic for both teams in the opening half, with the Wolverines having a near-attack on
Chelsea
The penalty area is going to shoot, and the result is immediately
Chelsea
Playing on the counter-attack, Sterling's direct diagonal pass from the left gave Broja an almost one-touch chance from 14 yards, but he missed his first shot and dinked past Gomes, but his slower movement resulted in him being cleared by Lemina, who had rushed back to the line.
Both teams soon found out that the other's defense was a bit of a problem, and the next thing you know, they started to go at it constantly, with gaps between the Wolverines' three guards and the two wingbacks.
Chelsea
Both Sterling and Palmer were able to go directly to the left and right perimeter of the three backs and were even able to consistently break into the box, generating a decent threat, while
Chelsea
With the absence of the two main backs and Gallagher's tendency to go forward, it was impossible for Ugochukwu to defend the area in front of the center backs, and with the high mobility of the Wolves' trio of sharpshooters, and especially with a player like Wong Hee Chan, who has a lot of stamina and the ability to make tackles and harassment, the Wolves were able to keep generating pressure and then threaten the team directly.
Chelsea
prohibited zone
Sterling's form is obviously very good, he continuously stole the ball from the feet of the Wolves players, Sarabia had a return fumble, T.Gomes also had a fumble, Sterling's movement is very quick to steal the ball and immediately change into accelerated sprint, but Sterling's shot can't be good, and missed a good chance, otherwise first half
Chelsea
had taken the lead, and the Wolves were clearly on the wrong end of it.
Chelsea
As soon as the pressure is on the Wolves are prone to dropping the ball.
The Wolves were mistake-prone in the first half, and every time they dropped the ball in midfield a
Chelsea
Sterling came into the box and almost got a shot off, but in the end
Chelsea
It's just short of the goal.
Chelsea
On the other hand, the center of the field was undefended, as Caicedo and Enzo Fernández were both out due to injuries, and as a result, the Wolves were able to pass the ball forward, and the front three were able to hit the defense directly without any obstacles.
Chelsea
The defenders can hardly use the midfield as a barrier to generate a layered defense, every time the defenders have to barely break the ball and are close to the ball, as soon as they are passed, it will turn into a dangerous situation of shooting directly at the goal.
The second half hasn't even started.
Chelsea
T.Silva, who was trying to pass back to the backfield, made a mistake and fell down, and J.Gomes took the ball and shot it into the goal, and there was a refraction. Luckily, the ball didn't bounce into the goal, otherwise the goalkeeper would have had to watch the ball go into the net!
Immediately from a corner, Gomes was left unmarked in the six-yard box and his header was blocked by goalkeeper Petrovic, but it was the angle of the ball that made it possible to keep it out.
Chelsea
The second half has started with a bang.
Chelsea
The defense began to crumble as the Wolves pressed, and soon after, Lemina scored again in the 51st minute from a corner kick, charging surprisingly straight at the goal from the 6-yard line.
Chelsea
Ugochukwu was clearly in position but just pushed Lemina in the side instead of getting around to him right away and blocking with his head, and was also clearly inexperienced in defense
Both sides are still making mistakes, at 54:00 Jackson took the ball from the two defenders closing the door of the air ball and rushed to the penalty area, Semedo back to the end of the chase, affecting the handling of Jackson, in fact, he could be up to the left foot direct shot, but he chose to buckle the ball but Semedo caught up with the destruction of Jackson's shot is still a problem, the ball he should be direct shot! He hesitated.
Chelsea
In the 58th minute a substitution was made, replacing Ugochukwu, who had made a mistake, and Broja, who had hardly produced a shot on goal, with Mudryk and Nkunku, who had returned from injury. Nkunku had a good chance as soon as he came on, and at the 63rd minute, when the Wolves had problems with the clearing, Nkunku kicked a trick shot from 9 yards out that hit the Wolves' player and refracted towards the goal, and was cleared on the goal line by T. Gomes. T. Gomes was on the goal line to clear the kick.
