Chelsea 3-0 Wolves: Report, result and goals as Blues cruise into second place

Chelsea moved up to second in the Premier League as they eased to a 3-0 win over bottom club Wolves.

Having made the long trip to Azerbaijan for their Champions League clash with Qarabag on Wednesday, Chelsea looked sluggish for much of a game with an opponent still seeking a first league win of the season.

But a rare Malo Gusto goal and a Joao Pedro put Chelsea firmly in control of the contest, before Pedro Neto added a third to seal the points and pile more misery on Wolves.

The win moves Chelsea within six points of leaders Arsenal, who dropped points at Sunderland earlier on Saturday.

Wolves appear set to appoint Rob Edwards as their new manager after they agreed a deal with Championship promotion challengers Middlesbrough to allow them to open talks with their former player.

Should Edwards indeed take over, he will inherit a side eight points adrift of safety.

Chelsea eventually click into gear

Sam Johnstone kept Chelsea at bay in the first half, and the Wolves goalkeeper was required as early as the fourth minute to tip over an Enzo Fernandez free-kick. Two minutes later, Johnstone thwarted Alejandro Garnacho after he was played through by Fernandez.

Fernandez had another effort tipped over by Johnstone before seeing a corner cleared off the line by Jackson Tchatchoua, and the frustration at their side’s failure to break the deadlock led to Chelsea being booed off by the home fans at half-time.

The tension was increasing as the stalemate stretched into the second half, but Gusto finally gave Chelsea reason to celebrate when he headed in from Garnacho’s left-wing cross in the 51st minute.

Fourteen minutes later the lead was doubled, with teenager Estevao making an instant impact off the bench. The Brazilian got down the right and pulled back for compatriot Joao Pedro to slam home his first home goal since August.

Wolves had offered nothing to suggest they were capable of coming back from two goals down, but Neto added insurance to ensure they would not have the opportunity. Fernandez sent Argentinian countryman Garnacho free down the left, and the former Manchester United winger’s cross left Neto with the simplest of finishes against the club from whom he joined Chelsea.

Chelsea could have made the scoreline more emphatic late on, Marc Guiu spurning the best chance to do so when he hit the post from point-blank range.

Wolves stay winless

Wolves still have just two points to their name, and in truth there was never any danger of them increasing that tally at Stamford Bridge.

Their first game since the sacking of Vitor Pereira saw them produce a reasonably solid first-half performance, but that faded in the second half as the gap in quality told.

Edwards won’t have learned much about the task ahead of him from a game they were always expected to lose, but the fact Wolves finished the contest without a shot on target served as an illustration of how far this side has fallen following a summer that saw them lose a host of key players including Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri.

The international break should prove well-timed for Wolves with Edwards’ seemingly imminent arrival, though a home game with Crystal Palace in their first game upon the resumption of the season is hardly an enticing prospect given the Eagles’ impressive form.

Chelsea visit Burnley in their first game following the international break, before the considerable challenge of a Champions League tie with Barcelona. Enzo Maresca will hope his side can find more fluency when they return as they navigate a crowded fixture list.