Noni Madueke’s second-half hat-trick inspired Chelsea to a crushing 6-2 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, securing new manager Enzo Maresca’s opening top-flight victory. The outcome moved back and forth with the lead before Chelsea finally opened it up at the Molineux.
It did not take Chelsea much time to get off the mark, scoring within two minutes when Nicolas Jackson headed in from a Cole Palmer corner. Wolves actually had a near-equalizer shortly afterwards; the header from Yerson Mosquera was mere inches wide. The hosts did level before the half-hour mark when Matheus Cunha curled an accurate strike in after being picked out by Rayan Aït-Nouri.
Cunha almost put Wolves ahead when another shot from distance seemed to get a deflection off Levi Colwill in which the ball hit onto the crossbar. Shortly after Chelsea took the lead again as a quick goal kick from Sanchez that found Jackson- who gave the ball right back to Palmer this time, he wellied home over José Sá. But Wolves responded in first-half added time, Jørgen Strand Larsen equalling from a Toti Gomes’ assist on his debut.
Chelsea opened the half with many fireworks, as they took only three minutes to get back to the winning way through a deflected strike from Madueke following a good move with Palmer. The pair struck again nine minutes on, as Madueke finished cleanly to give the visitors a two-goal cushion.
He sealed his hat-trick on 62 minutes, rounding off a great move begun by Enzo Fernández and Jackson. A Wolves misery was further compounded when a Mario Lemina goal was ruled out for offside, before Joao Félix smashed home Chelsea’s sixth, set up by Pedro Neto.
The emphatic win ended Chelsea’s five-year winless run at Molineux, leaving Wolves still seeking their first point of the season.
