Chelsea 1 Wolves 1 – Report and pictures

The first half was devoid of excitement or chances, with Wolves restricting Chelsea's opportunities but failing to create anything of note at the other end.

Raul Jimenez scored his 14th goal of the season shortly after half time after brilliantly combining with Diogo Jota.

Chelsea pressed hard for an equaliser and it finally came in the 92nd minute when Hazard fired a 20-yarder into the bottom corner.

Analysis

Wolves have been a lot of things this season; fearless, attacking, creative, adventurous – but above all they've been excellent defensively.

And as far as a defensive rearguard goes, this was very almost their finest hour, writes Tim Spiers at Stamford Bridge.

In fact it was very nearly the perfect away performance. Wolves defended manfully and resolutely for 92 minutes, restricting Chelsea's opportunities.

Only four teams have conceded fewer goals than Wolves this season. Their organisation has earned them many points – and here it so nearly earned them a famous win.

But there was still so much to admire about their performance.

Chelsea created a few chances, sure, but none were of the 'clear cut' variety as the solid gold Wolves wall repelled almost everything thrown its way.

Blocks, headers, clearances and interceptions were made with apparent ease with each of the back five absolutely outstanding against the likes of Hazard, Pedro and Higuain, multi-million pound stars each.

It's not easy to make defending look this good, though. It takes hours upon hours of disciplined practice, as well as outstanding coaching. Wolves certainly have that. And it was only a pinpoint Eden Hazard shot at the very end that denied them all three points.

Wolves are also clinical on the counter attack and, again, here more than on any occasion that was true as they registered a solitary shot all afternoon and scored from it.

It was no surprise that Raul Jimenez was the man to score it – his 14th of the season and his 12th in the league, equalling the Premier League record for a Wolves player (Steven Fletcher, 2011/12) – as he, like Wolves, proved yet again he has what it takes against the big boys. Jimenez's partnership with Jota is increasingly prolific.

All in all a good day's work, then. It says much for how far Wolves have come that a point at Stamford Bridge is nowhere near being one of their best results of the season.

Match report

Nuno reverted to his tried and trusted XI of recent weeks with Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho, Rui Patricio, Matt Doherty and Jonny Castro Otto restored to the line-up.

Romain Saiss got the nod to replace the suspended Ryan Bennett at centre half, while youngster Max Kilman was on the bench.

Chelsea played against Dynamo Kiev on Thursday, but with a 3-0 buffer from the first leg ahead of this Thursday's return leg in Ukraine, Maurizio Sarri selected arguably his strongest XI with Pedro, Gonzalo Higuain and Eden Hazard up front.

Wolves had enjoyed a great record against the big six this season, earning a few notable results including against the Blues at Molineux when a 2-1 victory ended their worst run of the campaign.

It also sparked a sequence of 11 wins in their past 19 matches in all competitions – and Nuno's team came into the clash confident of earning a result.

In a dull first half, though, that result looked like being 0-0 at best.

Almost the entire first period was played out in Wolves' half with Chelsea enjoying a whopping 79 per cent possession.

However, for all their dominance, they created very little and Patricio wasn't seriously troubled.

It started out as an intriguing tactical battle, with Wolves defending deep and looking to hit the Blues on the counter attack.

As the half wore on, though, there was very little to get excited about and when the whistle blew for the break even a few Chelsea fans were jeering.

Saiss blocked a Higuain shot, Doherty importantly headed clear ahead of Pedro and Patricio got in the way to deny Higuain's shot from an impossibly tight angle after a great pass from N'Golo Kante as Chelsea pressured the visiting goal with regularity, albeit the organised, resolute and patient Wolves weren't unduly stretched or prised apart.

There was a handball shout when Raul Jimenez accidentally kicked an Eden Hazard corner onto his arm, but it was never deliberate and referee Michael Oliver wasn't interested.

At the other end Wolves' opportunities to impress were few and far between.

Their only chance came when Neves picked out a rampaging Diogo Jota beyond the back line – with a good first touch he'd have been in on goal, but the ball bounced off the turf and hit Jota on the hand.

That was pretty much it. Jimenez and Jota struggled to hold the ball up, the wing-backs got little joy and Wolves struggled to work their way upfield on countless occasions.

Nuno will have been impressed with their defensive solidity, but the head coach kept flailing and waving his arms in the air – so much so you wondered if he was taking part in a semaphore competition – whenever Wolves failed to get into the Chelsea third of the pitch.

The status quo continued at the start of the second half. Chelsea had a penalty shout turned down, with first Doherty and then Saiss adjudged to have combined to take down Hazard just outside the Wolves box. David Luiz's resulting free kick hit the wall and deflected over.

Then on 56 minutes Wolves finally had their first shot of the game – and scored with it.

They had searched for a fruitful counter attack all afternoon and, when it came, it was a thing of beauty. Jota and Jimenez raced clear from their own half, running straight through the middle of the Chelsea defence and combining perfect passes at pace, before it opened up for Jimenez who received Jota's weighted through ball and beat Kepa via a deflection from a sliding Azpilicueta.

The Wolves fans behind that goal had been made to wait for something to get excited about – but it was certainly worth waiting for.

Back came Chelsea, with Patricio smartly pushing wide from Higuain's shot on the turn before tipping a Pedro rasper over the bar. Higuain was then inches away from connected at the back post from a whipped corner across goal.

Willian entered the fray for the hosts, following youngsters Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi, but with 20 minutes to go Chelsea were mostly being restricting to long shots and crosses by a resolute rearguard Wolves action. Players were throwing themselves at everything, making a succession of blocks and heading everything clear.

When Patricio saved brilliantly from Willian's curling shot it looked like Wolves were see it through, but then with just two left on the clock their hearts were broken when Hazard worked a yard of space outside the area and sent a perfect 20-yarder into the bottom corner.

it wasn't the result Wolves had tried to earn, but they could still be lauded for a magnificent defensive display.

Key moments

55 - GOOOOALLLL!!! Wolves take the lead against the run of play! Jimenez and Jota combine to perfection, exchanging intricate passes, with the former finding the net with the help of an Azpilicueta deflection. What a partnership!

57 - The Blues almost come up with an instant response. Higuain turns and cleverly tries to guide the ball into the bottom corner, with Patricio racing across his line to claw it away. A good save.

87 - Patricio does well to keep out Willian's curler. Chelsea work the ball from left to right, and Emerson cuts it back to the substitute, who looks to find the corner but is denied by the fingertips of the Portuguese shot-stopper.

90+1 - Goal! The Blues find an equaliser in added-on time, with Hazard's fierce right-footed drive from 25 yards flying into the far corner. Nothing Patricio could do about it. Cruel on Nuno's charges who had defended so well.

Teams

Chelsea (4-3-3)): Kepa; Azpilicueta (c), Rudiger, Luiz, Emerson; Kante, Jorginho (Willian, 72), Kovacic (Loftus-Cheek, 57); Pedro (Hudson-Odoi, 62), Higuain, Hazard

Subs not used: Caballero, Christensen, Barkley, Giroud

Goals: Hazard (90+1)

Wolves (3-5-2): Patricio; Saiss, Coady (c), Boly; Doherty, Dendoncker, Neves, Moutinho, Otto; Jimenez (Traore, 89), Jota (Gibbs-White, 81)

Subs not used: Ruddy (gk), Kilman, Vinagre, Costa, Cavaleiro

Goals: Jimenez (56)

Attendance: 40,692

Referee: sdf

League position

7th (44 points fro 30 matches)

Next up

Wolves host Manchester United in the FA Cup quarter-finals next Saturday, 7.55pm kick off