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Matheus Nunes cost Wolves a club record £38m from Sporting Lisbon in August 2022Frank Lampard made a losing return to the Chelsea hot-seat as Wolverhampton Wanderers eased their relegation worries with a hard-earned victory.
Chelsea legend Lampard was predictably given a rapturous reception from the travelling fans at Molineux following his appointment as interim head coach 27 months after being sacked as the club's full-time manager.
Yet the club's all-time record scorer was unable to stop the poor form that led to Graham Potter's sacking as mid-table Chelsea slumped to an 11th top-flight defeat of the season after failing to score for the third successive game.
Wolves were on the front-foot throughout and deserved their win which came after a sweet finish by Matheus Nunes, the Portugal midfielder's first goal for the club since joining from Sporting Lisbon last August.
Nunes, who cost a club record £38m, beat Kepa Arrizabalaga with a fierce attempt from the tightest of angles after an attempted headed clearance by Kalidou Koulibaly.
Joao Felix forced a save from Jose Sa but Chelsea were disappointing and remain 11th after just two wins in 11 league games.
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Same old story for Chelsea
Lampard made it clear he wants to give supporters a team they are proud of after his stop-gap appointment, a move that buys Chelsea's hierarchy time to get the next permanent appointment right.
Unfortunately it was the same old story for the Blues as they failed to score for the 12th time in the Premier League this season.
Lampard brought Raheem Sterling and Conor Gallagher back into the starting line-up but, on another frustrating day, both players picked up yellow cards and failed to make an impact.
There was also a rare sighting off the bench of striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, his first action since 26 February, but he could not help the team avoid continuing their dismal run of just one win on the road in the league since 16 October.
Lampard is looking to use this short-term opportunity to repair his reputation after damaging sackings at Chelsea and Everton and land himself a permanent job elsewhere in the Premier League for next season.
If he is to do that, much better will be required going forward - starting with Wednesday's trip to Real Madrid for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
Lampard was originally due to be at the Bernabeu as a television pundit but instead now finds himself plotting to bring down the champions of Europe after his surprise appointment.
More to follow.
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Wolverhampton Wanderers
Squad number1Player nameJosé Sá
Squad number22Player nameNélson Semedo
Squad number15Player nameDawson
Squad number23Player nameKilman
Squad number24Player nameToti
Squad number27Player nameMatheus Nunes
Squad number35Player nameJoão Gomes
Squad number5Player nameLemina
Squad number10Player nameDaniel Podence
Squad number12Player nameMatheus Cunha
Squad number29Player nameDiego Costa
Squad number4Player nameCollins
Squad number11Player nameHwang Hee-chan
Squad number21Player nameSarabia
Squad number28Player nameJoão Moutinho
Squad number37Player nameTraoré
Chelsea
Squad number1Player nameArrizabalaga
Squad number24Player nameJames
Squad number33Player nameFofana
Squad number26Player nameKoulibaly
Squad number32Player nameCucurella
Squad number23Player nameGallagher
Squad number5Player nameFernández
Squad number8Player nameKovacic
Squad number17Player nameSterling
Squad number29Player nameHavertz
Squad number11Player nameJoão Félix
Squad number9Player nameAubameyang
Squad number10Player namePulisic
Squad number14Player nameChalobah
Squad number15Player nameMudryk
Squad number21Player nameChilwell
Line-ups
Wolves
Formation 4-4-2
- 1Sá
- 22Nélson Semedo
- 15Dawson
- 23Kilman
- 24Gomes
- 27NunesSubstituted forCollinsat 90+6'minutes
- 35João GomesBooked at 59mins
- 5LeminaBooked at 39minsSubstituted forTraoréat 74'minutes
- 10PodenceSubstituted forJoão Moutinhoat 64'minutes
- 12Matheus CunhaSubstituted forSarabiaat 75'minutes
- 29Diego CostaSubstituted forHwang Hee-chanat 63'minutes
Substitutes
- 4Collins
- 7Neto
- 11Hwang Hee-chan
- 21Sarabia
- 25Bentley
- 28João Moutinho
- 37Traoré
- 59Hodge
- 64Bueno
Chelsea
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Arrizabalaga
- 24James
- 33FofanaSubstituted forChalobahat 80'minutes
- 26Koulibaly
- 32CucurellaBooked at 49minsSubstituted forChilwellat 68'minutesBooked at 89mins
- 23GallagherBooked at 67mins
- 5Fernández
- 8KovacicBooked at 87mins
- 17SterlingBooked at 63minsSubstituted forMudrykat 68'minutes
- 29HavertzSubstituted forPulisicat 61'minutes
- 11João FélixSubstituted forAubameyangat 67'minutes
Substitutes
- 4Badiashile
- 9Aubameyang
- 10Pulisic
- 12Loftus-Cheek
- 14Chalobah
- 15Mudryk
- 16Mendy
- 20Zakaria
- 21Chilwell
Referee:Peter Bankes
Attendance:31,614
Live Text
Match ends, Wolverhampton Wanderers 1, Chelsea 0.
Second Half ends, Wolverhampton Wanderers 1, Chelsea 0.
Hand ball by Ben Chilwell (Chelsea).
Substitution, Wolverhampton Wanderers. Nathan Collins replaces Matheus Nunes because of an injury.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match because of an injury Matheus Nunes (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
Attempt missed. Ben Chilwell (Chelsea) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Foul by Conor Gallagher (Chelsea).
João Gomes (Wolverhampton Wanderers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Ben Chilwell (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card.
Kalidou Koulibaly (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Hwang Hee-Chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Nélson Semedo.
Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card.
Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by João Gomes (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match (Chelsea).
Attempt blocked. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Chelsea) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Reece James with a cross.
Mykhailo Mudryk (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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