Noni Madueke silenced the boos with a second-half hat-trick all assisted by Cole Palmer as Chelsea crushed Wolverhampton Wanderers 6-2 away in a frenetic Premier League clash at Molineux on Sunday.
Chelsea’s first Premier League points of the season and the first for new manager Enzo Maresca arrived in spectacular fashion as the visitors ripped Wolves apart after the break following an absorbing first period.
Maresca’s side led twice in the first half with goals by Nicolas Jackson and Palmer but both times Wolves deservedly hit back through Matheus Cunha and Jorgen Strand Larsen.
Wolves fell part after the break, however, and Madueke took the game beyond them with three goals in 15 minutes.
Joao Felix came off the bench to mark his return to the club with his side’s sixth goal.
Much has been made of Chelsea’s huge squad assembled at massive cost and the baffling puzzle Italian Maresca has been hired to solve, but the youthful side he sent out on Sunday including nine players aged 23 or under gelled impressively.
Madueke was the villain for the home fans in more ways than one. The English forward was booed from the start after a deleted social media post in which he insulted the city of Wolverhampton.
He silenced the hecklers in emphatic fashion, however, to get Chelsea’s league campaign up and running after their opening defeat by champions Manchester City.
“Today means a lot. I was really just trying to be clever and wait for the right moment,” Madueke said.
“It is unbelievable. (Palmer) is cold and I am fire so it mixes well. He has the ability to always play a pass at the right time. I like to get the ball in space, beat people and make things happen, so luckily today it worked.”
DEFLECTED SHOT
The pair combined to restore Chelsea’s lead in the 49th minute with the 22-year-old Madueke getting a bit lucky as his shot deflected off of Rayan Ait-Nouri.
That goal sapped the fight out of Wolves and it was Palmer again who sent the over-lapping Madueke clear to slam a shot through the legs of Wolves keeper Jose Sa’s legs.
Madueke made it 5-2 with an almost identical goal as Wolves conceded possession and Cole sent him clear to complete his hat-trick.
With Wolves in disarray, Pedro Neto, who left them for Chelsea in the summer, teed up Felix for a cool finish.
Wolves will wonder what happened after they played some enterprising football in the first half.
They were caught cold when Jackson headed Chelsea in front after two minutes but deservedly levelled in the 27th minute when Cunha fired home after being set up by Ait-Nouri.
Wolves pressed for a second but it was Chelsea who went back in front on the stroke of halftime with Palmer producing a delightful lobbed finish from 30 metres with his left foot.
Chelsea were caught out again in first-half stoppage time, however, as Norwegian Strand Larsen opened his Wolves account, stretching out his foot to convert from close range after a free kick was headed across the penalty area.
Reuters
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