Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 Chelsea
As Premier League goals go, this was almost as late as it can get.
Certainly, there have been goals deeper into stoppage time than the strike Pedro Neto dispatched with 94 minutes and 39 seconds left on the clock.
It is the latest goal that the four-time Premier League champions Chelsea have ever conceded in the competition – since the exact goal time statistics were first annually compiled (in 2006-07).
What it could be for the Wolves’ season could be just as dramatic!
Highlights of the game
For some time, it seemed a home win was unlikely.
Indeed, when Olivier Giroud scored with the Blues’ first effort on target early in the second half, Wolves were in danger of losing three successive Premier League games for the first time since November 2018.
Fortunately, they were able to create two Premier League highlights to earn a dramatic victory and stop the west Londoners moving to the summit.
Chelsea had threatened in the opening half when Kurt Zouma – becoming almost a prolific scorer so far this term – hit the crossbar and Giroud headed over from a corner.
When the Frenchman made no mistake immediately after the break, firing a left-footed volley underneath Patricio following a cross from the lively Ben Chilwell – who has produced a string of fine performances for his new side this season and probably emerged as the first-choice for England boss Gareth Southgate in the national setup – the SBOTOP Premier League betting odds in favour of Chelsea seemed accurate.
At that point, even more ominous was the fact that Wolves had failed to score in their previous two games after losing talismanic striker Raul Jimenez, who suffered a fractured skull against Arsenal just over a fortnight ago.
However, Nuno Espirito Santo’s men are a proud English footballing institution and showed their character to fight back.
First, Daniel Podence drew them level, getting the better of both Chilwell and Reece James before lashing the ball past Edouard Mendy.
Then, with seconds remaining — and just after being denied a penalty by VAR — his Portuguese counterpart Neto ran onto a pass from Vitor Ferreira, burst past Zouma and rifled a low strike into the far corner to leave Mendy with no chance.
Grit, character and an emphatic strike.
After a last-gasp defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday, this was a memorable night for the home side and, who knows, perhaps a turning point in their 2020/21 campaign – a campaign they started on the back of a marathon 59-match 19/20 season and without a pre-season of any worthy description.
As for Chelsea, after their defeat against Everton last weekend ended an unbeaten run of 17 matches in all competitions, a missed opportunity.
Personally, I don’t think Chelsea, nor Manchester United, will be contesting title races again as long as two rookie managers remain at the helm.
That discussion, however, is for another day.
Key statistics
Wolves have won seven of their nine home midweek games since returning to the Premier League in 2018, including a 2-1 victory against Chelsea in December 2018.
Each of Wolves’ last 84 goals in the Premier League have been scored by non-British players (excluding own-goals) – only Arsenal have had a longer such run in the competition (171 from October 2005-February 2008).
No player has scored more goals for Chelsea in all competitions than Giroud (eight) this season – level with Timo Werner.
All four of Podence’s top-flight goals for Wolves have come against London clubs (two v Crystal Palace, one v Arsenal and one v Chelsea).
Chelsea have only failed to score in one of the last 18 top-flight meetings with Wolves, a 1-0 loss at Molineux in January 2011.
They have lost back-to-back Premier League matches for the first time in a year. The two defeats in December 2019 also started with a loss at Goodison Park.
What’s next?
Wolves now have nearly a week without a match – a luxury in 2020/21 – before they travel to Burnley next Monday.
They then face two big festive games in little over 48 hours with a December 27 match at home to Wolves, closely followed by a trip to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United.
Chelsea don’t have much let-up either as West Ham come to Stamford Bridge next Monday, followed by a London derby at Arsenal on Boxing Day and a home clash with Aston Villa on December 28.
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