On Christmas Eve, Premier League giants Chelsea went on the road to face Wolves, but returned with a 1-2 defeat, losing four consecutive away matches, making this festive season a particularly heavy one.
Chelsea, who won the EFL Cup on penalties in the middle of last week, had to change their formation due to the suspension of midfielder Ansel Fernandes and the absence of new midfielder Moses Scarr on the bench. He put Ugo Zukho in a double back position with Gunnar Kallicha, striker Nicklas Jensen on the left and Bucha in the center, while Wolves continued to rely on Hwang Hee-Chan and Hulk's attack.
At the start of the match, two exquisite passes from Staanen created chances for Nikolaus Jaeson, but the latter was either half a second too slow or mishandled the ball, missing the opportunity. Staanen then had a chance to score on his own but chose to shoot himself, which was parried away by Wolves' goalkeeper Hosea Shah, missing the chance to score. The first half ended with neither side able to score.
In the second half, Wolverhampton Wanderers, playing at home, continued to strengthen their aerial bombardment. Tudy Gomes, a center forward, almost scored with a header, but the goalkeeper of Chelsea, Berdych, was brave enough to save the goal. However, Wolves didn't give up and broke the deadlock in the 51st minute when Lemina scored with a header from a corner kick. As Chelsea's luck was failing them, Ugo Zuccu left the field with an injury, and Pucitenu replaced Bucha with Medillieu and Nicholas Nicholson, who had just recovered from his injury. Nicholson had a great chance to make a statement, but missed it due to Tudie Gomes's defending.
