Matheus Cunha’s hat-trick helped Wolves claim a 4-2 comeback victory at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea dropped into the bottom half of the Premier League table.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side were booed off by home fans at the end of a second loss in four days, whilst the name of former owner Roman Abramovich could be heard ringing around the ground.
Cole Palmer’s goal had seemed to have his side on their way to a fifth home league win in a row when he slotted in after 19 minutes.
Thereafter however, Gary O’Neil’s team dictated everything, with Cunha leading the way, although Chelsea will deem themselves unfortunate to have conceded from two big deflections in the first half, one of which was given as an own goal against Axel Disasi.
Thiago Silva headed a consolation near the end before home supporters let the depth of their anger be known.
The sides exchanged half-chances during the opening 15 minutes, Cunha and Pedro Neto drawing decent saves from Djordje Petrovic in Chelsea’s goal, whilst at the other end Palmer saw a left-footed shot deflect wide from outside the box and Christopher Nkunku was blocked by Jose Sa as he ran through on goal.
The game needed a spark of inspiration, and it came from Moises Caicedo. Chelsea’s record signing collected the ball centrally midway inside the Wolves half and with slid-rule precision found the run of Palmer. Caicedo’s pass did the hard part for him, and Chelsea’s top scorer placed it first-time into the corner with a cool flick of the boot.
It was a worthy assist, but the Ecuadorean undid his good work almost instantly. It was he who dallied on the ball in midfield, gifting it back to Wolves. From there, the visitors broke forward, working it up to Cunha who cut in onto his right and hit a shot that deflected off Silva and in as Petrovic scrambled to recover.
Chelsea laboured to impose themselves but O’Neil’s side had been the better team on the ball throughout the half, despite the hosts’ superior possession statistics. Wolves moved the ball with more intent, their attacking players making the more inventive runs. Chelsea by contrast, save for Caicedo’s moment of magic, were running into walls.
The pattern of the half was encapsulated by the goal that put Wolves in front. One ball from Nelson Semedo released Neto down the right, who carried it and crossed low. Chelsea were unfortunate to suffer another critical deflection as Rayan Ait Nouri’s shot bounced off Disasi and in, rounding off an efficient, clinical Wolves counter.
Chelsea supporters near the dugout were angry with their team’s slow pace and a perceived lack of fight, making their feelings known at half-time in a furious chorus of boos. But things were only to get worse.
Raheem Sterling dragged wide from Ben Chilwell’s clever cut-back at the start of the second half as Pochettino’s side sought a response. At the other end, frustrations spread from the crowd to the pitch as Caicedo gave away two free-kicks in as many minutes on the edge of his own box, the second earning him a booking.
Wolves’ third goal came from more crisp, incisive counter-attacking. Enzo Fernandez tried to cut out Semedo’s ball down the line but helped it only into the path of Neto, who ran it deep into the box and laid off for Cunha to batter it past Petkovic. Cue another rally of bitter discontent from home supporters.
Malo Gusto’s foul handed Cunha the chance to seal his hat-trick from the penalty spot, an opportunity he took with a neat finish into the corner.
Thiago Silva’s late headed consolation could not take the sheen off a stunning Wolves win.
Arteta hoping to make more fond memories as Arsenal host Bournemouth
Mikel Arteta has fond memories of the last time Arsenal faced Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium and believes the never-say-die spirit they showed in that match could prove key in this season's title race.
Arsenal came from 2-0 down to beat Bournemouth 3-2 last March, with Reiss Nelson hitting a 97th-minute winner as the Gunners' supporters began to believe in their title dream.
Arteta's men ultimately came up short in the run-in in 2022-23, but they hold a slender one-point lead over City as they bid to go one better in 2023-24, though City have a game in hand.
Reflecting on the Cherries' last visit to the Emirates, Arteta said the resilience shown on that day has become a key characteristic of his side.
"I have a great memory because the game ended in a really beautiful way and it was one of the highlights of the season, so we know we're going to have to earn it tomorrow," he said.
"It's going to be a really tough match but the team is ready."
Asked about the importance of finding different ways to win, he added: "It's important at any stage, but now obviously with what is there to win, we know that we're going to have to win games in different ways and that could be one way.
"Hopefully tomorrow it's not like that but if it has to be, then that's welcome."
Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth are eyeing a top-half finish after winning five of their last eight games, and they surpassed their previous record points tally for a Premier League season by reaching 48 with last week's 3-0 thrashing of Brighton and Hove Albion.
Iraola, however, wants more, saying: "It's good news. It's something we were trying to get to in the past few weeks but now we still want more points.
"We have three very difficult games starting with tomorrow, but we are going to keep trying to be competitive in every game."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Arsenal – Kai Havertz
Havertz's first Premier League goal for Arsenal came in their 4-0 win at Bournemouth in the reverse fixture. The German has been involved in 13 goals in his last 11 league games for the Gunners, scoring eight and assisting five.
Bournemouth – Justin Kluivert
Bournemouth's Kluivert has registered as many goal involvements in his last six Premier League games (four – three goals, one assist) as he had in his first 23 in the competition (four goals).
MATCH PREDICTION: ARSENAL WIN
Arsenal have won all six of their home Premier League matches against Bournemouth. The Gunners have only played more home games against Stoke while maintaining a 100 per cent record (10/10).
Arsenal have also won 13 of their 15 Premier League games so far in 2024, dropping points only against City (0-0) and Aston Villa (0-2). However, the Gunners have conceded four goals in their last four league games, as many as in their previous 11 combined.
However, Bournemouth have only picked up five points in 13 Premier League matches against Arsenal (one win, two draws, 10 losses) and have never kept a clean sheet against the Gunners. The Cherries have only played more games against City (14) without recording a shutout.
Bournemouth have won 1-0 at Wolves and 3-0 against Brighton in their last two Premier League games – never before have they won three consecutive top-flight games without conceding.
Arsenal have scored a league-high 85 goals in their 35 Premier League games this season, with their average of 2.4 goals-per-game their highest across a single campaign since 1934-35, when they scored 115 goals in 42 matches (2.7 per game).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Arsenal – 70.2%
Draw – 19.3%
Bournemouth – 10.5%
Guardiola says Man City must prove themselves all over again in title race
Pep Guardiola says Manchester City's players cannot dine out on their past achievements and must prove themselves all over again in their last four games of the Premier League season, starting against Wolves on Saturday.
The title race remains in City's hands despite Arsenal leading the way by a single point, with Guardiola's men possessing a game in hand as they chase a fourth successive crown.
After welcoming Wolves to the Etihad Stadium, they face back-to-back trips to London to take on Fulham and Tottenham, then host West Ham on the final day.
Guardiola says City – who should have Ederson, Ruben Dias and Phil Foden back on Saturday – cannot assume this title rice will go the same way as others.
"We have to prove it tomorrow against Wolves and then in the next games," Guardiola said.
"We know we have to win and get all 12 points, otherwise it will be difficult because Arsenal are so strong and so consistent. It's difficult to drop points.
"It depends on us. It's just tomorrow and then three games in one week, no more complicated than that to analyse.
"I would love to say what we have done in the past is going to happen this season, but nobody knows."
Wolves, meanwhile, are still eyeing a top-half finish after halting a six-game winless run by beating struggling Luton Town 2-1 at Molineux last week, with goals from Hwang Hee-chan and Toti Gomes.
A spate of injuries saw their European hopes slip away, but with Pedro Neto back in full training alongside Hwang and Matheus Cunha, they could start with their first-choice front three for the first time since October.
Boss Gary O'Neil, who will serve a one-match touchline ban on Saturday, said: "To have all the senior players back and the group starting to look stronger again takes me back to October and how we felt at that moment.
"So we're looking forward to seeing them all back together."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Manchester City – Kevin De Bruyne
De Bruyne has started six Premier League matches against Wolves, recording five goals and five assists against them, though nine of those involvements came at Molineux (five goals, four assists).
The Belgian also laid on two assists against Nottingham Forest last week to move to 110 overall in the Premier League – just one behind second-placed Cesc Fabregas in the all-time rankings.
Wolves – Hwang Hee-chan
Hwang scored 10 Premier League goals before the turn of the year, then went exactly four months without a goal due to international duty and injuries before netting against Luton last week.
Both he and Cunha have 11 Premier League goals this season, and there have only been three previous instances of a player netting more for the club in a single campaign – Steven Fletcher in 2011-12 (12) and Raul Jimenez in both 2018-19 (13) and 2019-20 (17).
MATCH PREDICTION – MANCHESTER CITY WIN
Wolves inflicted City's first defeat of the Premier League season back in September, and they now have the chance to complete just their second top-flight double over them since 1960-61, having previously achieved the feat in 2019-20.
However, City are in ominous form, going unbeaten through their last 19 Premier League games (15 wins, four draws).
They have already enjoyed four unbeaten runs of 20 or more matches in the competition – three of them under Guardiola – and could become just the second team to achieve the feat five times (Manchester United have done so seven times).
All five of Wolves' away Premier League wins this term have either been against either teams starting the day in the relegation zone (two) or versus London clubs (three).
They have lost 18 of their 20 Premier League away games against sides starting the day inside the top two, winning the others at Tottenham (in December 2018) and City (October 2019). The champions have no margin for error, and a slip-up from them looks unlikely at this stage.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Manchester City – 71.2%
Wolves – 9.6%
Draw – 19.2%
Mark Clattenburg leaves consultancy role with Nottingham Forest
Mark Clattenburg has resigned from his role as a refereeing consultant with Nottingham Forest, saying his presence had become a "hindrance" to the club.
Retired Premier League referee Clattenburg – who oversaw the 2016 Champions League final and the showpiece game at Euro 2016 – began the role in February.
The appointment was roundly criticised but Forest – who have seen a number of debatable decisions go against them this season – said it would aid their understanding of the decision-making process and improve dialogue with refereeing body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL).
However, Clattenburg has continued to attract criticism for taking on the role, which intensified when Forest reacted to a 2-0 Premier League defeat at Everton by accusing Stuart Attwell – who was on VAR duty – of being a fan of relegation rivals Luton Town.
That came after Forest had seen three penalty appeals knocked back at Goodison Park, and Clattenburg avoided condemning Forest's statement in the aftermath of the controversy.
On Friday, Forest released a statement from Clattenburg, who defended his decision to take the job but acknowledged it had created unforeseen difficulties.
Clattenburg said: "It is now clear that the existence and performance of these consultancy services has caused unintended friction between Nottingham Forest and other participants, to the extent that it has become more of a hindrance than help.
"It has also led to the unmerited targeting of me, personally, by certain participants and pundits.
"Such reactions and outcomes were not expected and are regrettable, as it is my sincere belief that there is a place for and value in such a role in the modern game."
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