The absolute Gary O’Neil masterstoke that helped Wolves shock Chelsea on Sunday
Wolves are into the top half of the Premier League for the first time this season, after a brilliant 4-2 win over Chelsea.
Wanderers put the pain of losing to Manchester United in injury-time in midweek firmly behind them, as they blew away the Blues at Stamford Bridge – it was the first win away at the Blues in the club’s history.
Matheus Cunha bagged a hat-trick for the visitors, with Axel Disasi scoring an own goal after good work from Pedro Neto and Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Chelsea took the lead through Cole Palmer and scored very late on through Thiago Silva, but it was a deserved win for Wolves who can now start to think about European football.
Cunha will grab the headlines, but there was another player in Old Gold today who absolutely shone…
Gary O’Neil’s decision to start Joao Gomes for Wolves against Chelsea was a masterstroke
Today, Wolves completely outfought Chelsea.
There was real quality in the final third, but Wolves were stronger, quicker and better in the press.
Despite Chelsea having two players costing over £100 million, Wolves won the midfield battle today – and there was a brilliant performance from Joao Gomes, who came back into the side in place of Tommy Doyle.
It was an interesting call for O’Neil to drop Doyle to the bench and start Gomes.
In recent games, Doyle has arguably been Wolves’ best performer, although he wasn’t quite at his top level against United.
It was a bold call to go with Gomes, but the Brazilian vindicated his manager’s decision and was wonderfully tenacious against the Blues. It was thanks to him and Neto that Wolves grabbed a quick equaliser after Palmer had scored for Chelsea.
He was just brilliant in the engine room and according to Sofascore, he contested 14 duels in the match – only Matheus Cunha contested more.
Gomes also made six tackles, which was the most by any player on the field. He also made a couple of interceptions, and was today on the ball, completing 18/22 passes (82%).
Ball-winner Gomes gave Chelsea nothing
One or two felt it was harsh for Doyle to lose his starting spot today. He may not have shone against United but lately, the maestro has been fantastic alongside Mario Lemina.
But Gomes was brilliant in the reverse fixture and maybe O’Neil had that in mind when considering his team selection.
Today, Gomes – branded ‘a super player’ previously by O’Neil – hassled and harried and the Chelsea midfielders were just not comfortable going up against him. He pressured them into mistakes, and that suffocation from him relieving the pressure on Wolves.
It was a fantastic call among many from O’Neil, and all of a sudden Doyle has work to do again to get back into the team
