Chelsea defeated Wolves 3-0 at Stamford Bridge on sunday, moving up to second in the Premier League table, despite a frustrating first half. Goals from Malo Gusto,Joao Pedro,and Pedro Neto secured the victory for the Blues,with head coach Enzo Maresca expressing satisfaction with his team’s performance.
Wolves arrived in west London at the bottom of the league and without a permanent manager following Vitor Pereira’s departure,presenting a “tricky” challenge according to Maresca. While Chelsea dominated the first half, creating numerous chances, thay failed to find the breakthrough. The second half proved more decisive, with Gusto opening the scoring in his 98th appearance for the club.
“We are happy with the performance,” Maresca stated. “I was very worried before the game because these are always tricky matches, but in the first half and second half, we created so many chances and didn’t concede anything.” He emphasized the importance of clinical finishing, noting, “The difference between the first and second halves is that in the second we scored goals and in the first we missed many chances.”
Gusto’s goal, a header, was met with delight from the team. Maresca highlighted the importance of attacking full-backs, referencing Marc Cucurella’s goal-scoring contributions last season. “Malo was close so many times and we like full-backs attacking and arriving inside the box. Tonight, Malo scored to help the team as that goal opened up the game a little bit.”
The match also saw concern over Moises Caicedo, who appeared to be limping during the first half. Maresca confirmed Caicedo was fine, attributing the issue to a kick to the knee. However, both Pedro Neto and Enzo fernandez requested substitutions due to injury – Neto with a groin problem and Fernandez with a knee issue – and will be assessed.
“He [Caicedo] was ok, just a kick in the first half in his knee,” Maresca said. “But he finished the game and I asked him after the game and he was ok.” He added, “Pedro neto and Enzo fernandez did ask for a change; Pedro for the groin problem and Enzo for the knee, so we will have to see how they are.”
