Chelsea 3-1 Wolves: Match report & 3 key takeaways as Blues end wait for Premier League win | OneFootball

FROM STAMFORD BRIDGE - Chelsea earned their first Premier League of 2025 with a 3-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday night.

The Blues predictably dominated their struggling visitors, taking a deserved lead through Tosin Adarabuioyo midway through the first half.

Wolves played on the seed of doubt which Chelsea's poor form as planted, with Matt Doherty capitalising upon a blunder from Robert Sanchez on the cusp of half-time.

A burst of goals shortly after the hour mark from Marc Cucurella and Noni Madueke calmed the gently rising sense of tension in Stamford Bridge, as the Blues held on to claim three points which lifts them above Manchester City and back in to the Premier League's top four.

How the game unfolded

Enzo Maresca described managing Chelsea in January as a "disaster" due to the never-ending swirl of transfer speculation. Results haven't eased that pressure, with the Blues winless in five league games heading into Monday night's bout.

A bright start quickly banished the memories of that poor form. Cole Palmer wreaked havoc tip-toeing between the lines, both wingers had the beating of their opposite full-backs and Marc Cucurella pinwheeled around with his trademark sense of reckless abandon. However, it was Wolves who gifted Chelsea their breakthrough.

A boneheaded piece of miscommunication between Matt Doherty and Jose Sa, minds fried by the everyday stress that hangs over a club battling relegation, almost put the ball in their own net. The visitors escaped with a corner, which still led to the opener.

At the second phase of that set piece, Reece James' deflected effort bounced kindly into the midriff of Tosin Adarabioyo. Fresh from a brace last weekend against Morecambe, the newly prolific centre-back kept his composure and tucked the opening goal underneath Sa in the 24th minute.

If Chelsea's first strike came with a helping hand, Wolves' equaliser may as well as have been wrapped with a bow. Robert Sanchez fumbled Matheus Cunha's corner in first-half stoppage time, sending the ball squirming directly into the path of a grateful Doherty, who made up for his earlier blunder with a stabbed equaliser.

The Blues regrouped during the interval, returning for the second half with the lopsided monopoly of possession and chances which had defined the opening 45 minutes.

Cucurella eventually made that domination count on the hour mark, capping off a swift zig-zagging move with a scuffed effort just inside the far post before Wolves even had a second-half shot. Noni Madueke's in-swinging cross was flicked on by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and in to the stride of Cucurella who, much like his colleague at the back, Tosin, picked out of the bottom corner.

Barely five minutes had elapsed before Chelsea doubled their advantage. The returning Trevoh Chalobah towered above a gaggle of gold shirts to thump Palmer's floated free kick into the turf. Before the ball could nestle in the net, completing a hat-trick of defensive goalscorers for the Blues, Madueke snuck in to nod Chelsea's third of the evening over the line.

There was a collective sense of easing off from the Blues during the closing stages, letting Wolves maintain the illusion of still being in the contest. However, Chelsea eventually saw out a much-needed win which piles the pressure back on their opponents, who sit above the relegation zone on goal difference alone.

Check out Chelsea vs Wolves player ratings here.

Noni Madueke renews personal rivalry with Wolves

Noni Madueke enjoyed his goal on Monday / BEN STANSALL/GettyImages

"This place is s***." That was Madueke's curt and cutting appraisal of Wolverhampton as a city on social media before he rattled in a hat-trick against the Wanderers back in August. The England international apologised for his hastily deleted post, but had no reason to regret his impressive contribution against the same opposition once again.

Madueke had his way with Rayan Ait-Nouri so frequently and forcefully during the opening 20 minutes that Pereira took the unorthodox approach of switching his full-backs. Nelson Semedo had more success against the scheming left footer, but as soon as he afforded Madueke more than a whisper of space, the headband-clad forward swung in the cross which led to Cucurella's go-ahead goal.

Maresca has questioned Madueke's work rate at times this season, but the forward showed plenty of desire to steal a goal off Chalobah, nodding in from point-blank range before celebrating directly in front of the away fans who now had another reason to dislike the winger.

Reece James muzzles Matheus Cunha

Reece James and Matheus Cunha went toe-to-toe on Monday / Mike Hewitt/GettyImages

Wolves boss Pereira described Cunha as a player who can "take a rabbit and magic in the moment on the pitch and create something special". Reece James was tasked with tackling the Brazilian's trickery and did so by turning the duel in to a physical slugfest.

Wherever Cunha roamed, James' hulking shoulder was never far from away. At one point midway through the second half, Wolves' talismanic forward drifted all the way in to the centre circle to escape his jailer-in-chief, yet the Blues skipper materialised to barge him (fairly) to the turf.

There will be those that argue Cunha wasn't quite himself as he spent the week recovering from illness, but James' entire career is essentially one long injury comeback. The Stamford Bridge crowd certainly appreciated their captain, treating the right-back to a standing ovation as he trotted off for the final 15 minutes.

Trevoh Chalobah (right) only officially resigned for Chelsea five days ago / Harry Murphy - Danehouse/GettyImages

The speed of Trevoh Chalobah's return to Chelsea's first team was so blisteringly swift that the recalled loanee didn't even make the matchday programme for the visit of Wolves.

Maresca insisted that Chalobah, who spent almost two decades coming through the Blues academy, only joined Crystal Palace this summer to adhere to the club's financial fair play demands. After a glut of defensive injuries, "the best solution was to bring Trev back," as the Italian explained.

The cheer for Chalobah's first challenge on Monday boomed around Stamford Bridge, giving way to a spontaneous burst of the returning defender's name. The 25-year-old made so many subsequent interventions that the shouts of approval were no longer solely sentimental but entirely deserved.

It was almost a fairytale return for Chalobah, whose header was bouncing beyond Sa and over the line before Madueke got his headband on the ball.