Podence inspires shock comeback as Blues lose second in a row

Chelsea missed their chance to move top of the Premier League as they suffered a 2-1 lead away to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Blues had dominated the first half and took the lead early in the second when Olivier Giroud flicked home a cross at the near post. However Wolves soon rallied and equalised in outstanding fashion through Daniel Podence on 66 minutes.

Chelsea looked the more likely to win as they set up camp on the Wolves box late in the game but were undone by a classic Wolves counter led by the explosive Pedro Neto, who burst past Kurt Zouma before smashing home to inflict a second straight league defeat on Frank Lampard’s side for the first time in 2020.

Read on for the key talking points from the game.

Chelsea miss Ziyech’s vision

For all their gaudy attacking riches Chelsea have not yet managed to quite establish an interchangeable system in which one part fits in as smoothly as another. At least not everywhere. Because whilst Tammy Abraham and Giroud can both spearhead an attack and Christian Pulisic and Timo Werner can dart infield from the left there is no-one quite as inventive as Hakim Ziyech.

With him drifting in from the right, his scalpel of a left boot slicing defences up with short passes, lofted crosses and curling shots, Chelsea looked like they had half a dozen avenues to beat teams at any moment. Without Ziyech their attack is rather more prosaic.

Had Wolves pushed forward in numbers there may have been space for Werner and Pulisic to dart into. Instead the massed defensive ranks could sit deep, inviting Mason Mount and Kai Havertz to spread the ball wide for crosses towards Giroud and his fellow forwards. This was by no means a risk-free strategy, as Giroud would prove on one crucial occasion, but ultimately Willy Bolly, Conor Coady and Romain Saiss were far happier dealing with aerial duels than balls in behind.

It is perhaps curious that a team with two “free eights” ahead of N’Golo Kante could not conjure more but neither Mount nor Havertz are natural midfield playmakers. The former is exceptional at pressing and shuttling the ball but his killer passes come infrequently. Havertz, meanwhile, is still adapting to the pace of the Premier League.

That Ziyech did not need the same time as his fellow summer signing does not mean that Havertz has done anything wrong, rather that the Moroccan has done so much right that it is already hard to imagine a Chelsea team being at their best without him.

Podence breathes life into Wolves’ sluggish attack

It would take a moment of real quality to get that high value shot away for Wolves, that came from the excellent Podence. It should not have come as a surprise to Chelsea even if there was little either Ben Chilwell or Reece James could do as he wriggled his way around both of them before smashing a shot in at Mendy’s near post.

Podence may not have won headlines quite like Diogo Jota, the man he effectively replaced when he joined from Olympiacos midway through last season, but it would be fair to say that their current wing wonder is putting in displays comparable with the best of his Portuguese predecessor.