Frank Lampard suffered defeat in his first match back in charge of Chelsea as Matheus Nunes hit a dream goal to earn Wolves a 1-0 Premier League victory.
There was a touch of Marc van Basten’s famous goal against the Soviet Union at Euro 88 about Nunes’ winning strike at Molineux on Saturday.
The first half was dull and Chelsea couldn’t find a suitable response, leaving them 40 points behind after 30 rounds played, with Real Madrid next.
While the focus was on Lampard, it was a huge result for Wolves that eased relegation fears for Julen Lopetegui’s side.
Lampard was without Mason Mount but the interim boss boosted Chelsea’s attacking options by bringing on Conor Gallagher and Raheem Sterling while N’Golo Kante sat out the game.
Going into this game, these teams have scored just 52 goals between them in 58 Premier League games this season and the lack of a dangerous focal point for either attack was glaring early on.
The battles were fought mostly in midfield and on the wings, and Nunes called for a special goal out of nowhere to break the deadlock in the 31st minute.
The former Sporting CP midfielder sent a beautiful strike past Kepa Arrizabalaga and into the left corner after the ball bounced into his path on the right edge of the penalty area.
Chelsea’s Reece James fired over from a free-kick just before the hour mark as the white-clad visitors looked to claw their way back into the game.
Wolves had ex-Chelsea title winner Diego Costa in their ranks and he was having fun causing trouble, even with the old pace gone. He left soon after the hour and Chelsea were probably glad to see the back of the veteran.
Cunha provided most of Wolves’ threat, with Kepa making a solid stop before he was grateful to see a wild shot clear the bar. Chelsea, meanwhile, disengaged but rarely showed any clear purpose as they failed to add to their paltry four away wins this season.
