There's no effect of changing the coach. Wolverhampton is falling without wings.
Wolverhampton lost 1-3 to Chelsea in the 22nd round of the English Premier League (EPL) in the 2024-2025 season at Stamford Bridge in London on the 21st (Korea time). Wolverhampton, who finished 1-1 in the first half, suffered a bitter defeat in the enemy territory as the defense collapsed in the second half.
Wolverhampton, who replaced former manager Gary O'Neill last month and urgently deployed Vitor Pereira as a firefighter, recently combined with three-goal defeats against Nottingham Forest (0-3 loss) and Newcastle United (0-3 loss) to fall into a three-game losing streak. There is no significant difference in performance and flow from when he lost four consecutive games under former coach O'Neill in December.
Wolverhampton, who failed to accumulate points in three consecutive games, managed to remain in 17th place with 16 points. If Ipswich (16 points), ranked 18th in the relegation zone, had not lost to Manchester City 0-6 on the 20th, it could have fallen back to the relegation zone as a result of that day. They were ahead of Ipswich by a point tie.
Along with 15th-ranked Tottenham captain Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) is also in a position to play the rest of the season under relegation stress.
Coach Pereira lowered Hwang Hee-chan, who started the last three consecutive games, to the bench and set up an offense with Jorgen Strant Larsen, Matheus Cunha and Pablo Sarabia. In the 3-4-3 formation, Nelsong Semedo, João Gomes, Andre and Rayan Ait-Nuri made up the midfield, while Matt Doherty, Santiago Bueno and Emmanuel Agbadu played three backs. Jose Saga defended the goal.
In response, Chelsea put Nicholas Jackson at the top and made up the second line of attack with Pedru Netu, Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke from Wolverhampton. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Moise Caicedo set up the midfield, while Mark Cucurella, Trevo Chalova, Tosin Adarabioyo and Reece James built the four backs. Robert Sanchez wore goalkeeper gloves. Jadon Sancho, João Felix and Christopher Nkunku were on the bench.
Wolverhampton was dragged away by conceding the opening goal in the 24th minute of the first half. James connected with a shot that hit the Wolverhampton defender's head and flowed backward in a corner kick. James' shot deflected off the defensive leg and fell in front of Adarabioyo, and Adarabioyo calmly caught the ball and scored. The video reading system (VAR) was operated to check for offside fouls, and the score was recognized when the onside decision was made.
The first half, which was likely to end with Chelsea's lead, was brought to square one due to a mistake by Chelsea goalkeeper Sanchez. Sanchez caught Wolverhampton's corner in front of the goal and missed it, and Doherty quickly ran and pushed it into the goal. The first half ended in a 1-1 tie.
The coaches of both teams met the second half carefully at half-time without replacement. In the 15th minute of the second half, one cross broke the balance of the game. Madueke, who caught the ball from the right side of the opponent's camp, floated the cross to the gate, passed through the forehead of Dewsbury Hall and connected to Cucurella, who rushed in front of the gate. Cucurella gave his team the lead with a calm chest trapping and volley that was not like a defender.
Five minutes later, Chelsea scored another goal. Palmer's free kick hit Chalobah's forehead in front of the gate and headed toward the goal. Madueke said this again with a header 'confirmed death'. Wolverhampton, who allowed a two-goal lead in an instant, tried to turn it around in the 29th minute of the second half by putting Gonzalo Guedes, Hodrigo Gomes and Jean-Likner Belgard at the same time, but failed to open Chelsea's goal for the rest of the time. Larsen's shot in the 38th minute of the second half was blocked by the goalkeeper.
Hwang Hee-chan was not chosen by Pereira in the end. Hwang Hee-chan missed the league game for the first time in seven games since the match against West Ham (1-2 loss) on December 9. I think it will be a gloomy night for the team and Hwang Hee-chan individually.
Meanwhile, Chelsea, who won in six league matches, rose to the 40th spot, knocking down Manchester City (38 points) and Newcastle (38 points) and jumping two places from sixth to fourth, a Champions League berth.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
