Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 Chelsea: Blues Player Ratings as they fall to late Neto winner | Premier League 2020-21
Chelsea slipped to a second straight Premier League loss as they went down 2-1 to Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on Tuesday evening.
Olivier Giroud gave Chelsea the lead early in the second half with a terrific goal. Ben Chilwell put in a cross from the left-wing, and Giroud attacked it well. He drifted in front of Willy Boly at the near-post and got enough power on his shot to ensure Rui Patricio couldn't hold on to it.
But Wolves were only behind for 17 minutes of the game. Daniel Podence picked up the ball on the second phase of play during a Wolves set-piece. The 25-year-old dribbled past Chilwell and then checked past Reece James, before his shot took a slight deflection off the Chelsea right-back to give Edouard Mendy no chance.
With the game meandering towards a draw, Chelsea were dealt the sucker blow. On the counter-attack, Pedro Neto carried the ball a fair distance to reach the edge of the box, before beating the Blues keeper with a strike that went in at the far-post.
Here's how each player fared in this game for Chelsea.
Chelsea Player Ratings
Edouard Mendy - 5/10
Mendy could have done little to stop Podence's goal, which deflected off James. But for Neto's strike, he didn't spread himself enough and allowed the ball to sneak past him a little too easily.
Reece James - 5/10
James failed to meet the high standards that he has set for himself for much of the season. Going forward, he was unable to really delivery quality into the box. Defensively, he had his problems dealing with the likes of Neto and Podence.
Kurt Zouma - 5/10
Zouma could have given Chelsea the lead in the first half, but his towering header thundered into the crossbar. Defensively, he was left exposed in the last minute of the game, with Neto running straight at him. If you had to nitpick, you could say that Zouma should have fouled his man given the state of the game at the time.
Thiago Silva - 5/10
The veteran didn't have too many problems against Fabio Silva, who started as the striker for Wolves. However, after young forward went off, Thiago Silva struggled. The likes of Neto and Podence kept drifting into dangerous areas, making themselves difficult to mark.
Ben Chilwell - 6/10
Chilwell set up Giroud's opener for Chelsea with a peach of a cross. He should've done better for Podence's goal, as he was beaten rather easily by the Portuguese forward.
N'Golo Kante - 6/10
Kante made one critical intervention when he tried to stop Ruben Neves from unleashing a shot from distance. He mostly had a tidy game, and did what he does best at the base of the Chelsea midfield.
Mason Mount - 5/10
Mount couldn't get into this game as much as he'd have liked. His usual weapons, along with his set-piece deliveries, were not pinpoint in this game.
Kai Havertz - 4/10
Havertz was moved back into midfield for this game. The young German had yet another poor game and had no significant touches that troubled Chelsea.
Timo Werner - 4/10
Werner drifted out to both flanks, but found no joy from either Wolves full-back.
Christian Pulisic - 6/10
For much of the first half, Pulisic was Chelsea's only attacking outlet, thanks to his ability to carry the ball across distances.
Olivier Giroud - 7/10
Giroud took his goal superbly, and was the nuisance he always is. But Lampard would've wanted his French striker to make the most of a couple of other great chances that he had.
Chelsea Substitutes
Mateo Kovacic - 6/10
Kovacic was part of some really decisive moments in midfield after coming on, and his pressing brought intensity to Chelsea's display.
Tammy Abraham - N/A
Abraham came onto the pitch at the same time as Kovacic, but never really touched the ball.