Chelsea suffered another defeat on Sunday, losing to Wolves 2-1 to mark the London side’s first Christmas Eve match defeat in the Premier League since 1995.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team controlled possession at the home of Wolves At Molineux but squandered opportunities in an exciting match marked by thoughtless errors made by the opposition.
Wolves took a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Mario Lemina and Matt Doherty, but Christopher Nkunku’s Premier League debut made them sweat.
Chelsea’s fourth league loss in six games means a gloomy Christmas for the inconsistent team, who are now only one goal behind Wolves in the Premier League standings after their loss.
There were opportunities for both teams early in the game.
Armando Broja was well placed to stumble on the ball in the box at the opposite end after Nelson Samedo rushed forward but was unable to find Matheus Cunha on the left.
Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson was also guilty of wasting several excellent opportunities.
The London side missed a golden opportunity to grab the lead after the half-hour mark when Raheem Sterling caught Joao Gomes in control 40 yards away and raced forward.
The England striker was one-on-one with Jose Sa and had two men to his right but he chose to fire rather than pass, and the Wolves goalkeeper stopped it.
In the dying seconds of the half, Hwang Hee-chan allowed Wolves to break the tie, but he blazed over from an angle.
The home team had a strong start to the second half and went very close to taking the lead when Joao Gomes’s shot was deflected by Chelsea’s Lesley Ugochukwu and went outside the post.
However, they were able to break the tie in the fifty-first minute when Lemina headed a Pablo Sarabia corner home without even having to get off the ground.
Substitute Nkunku came agonisingly close but missed a chance to equalize when his shot went over.
It was Wolves who instead increased their lead by double in stoppage time.
Substitute Hugo Bueno crossed the ball, and Chelsea could only stop it as far as Doherty, who was already there and finished from close range.
The 96th minute saw France international Nkunku head home to get one back, but Gary O’Neil’s team held on to take all three points.