Wolves 2 Chelsea 5 – What the stats reveal
Wolves were humbled on Molineux’s 130th anniversary as they were beaten 5-2 by Chelsea.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side were second best in the vast majority of areas, as the stats from whoscored.com – specialists in the in-depth analysis of detailed football data – show.
Patricio a bystander
Days do not come much worse than this for goalkeepers.
Rui Patricio faced six shots on target from Chelsea and conceded five.
The Portuguese did not come up with any howlers, although you could say he should have got closer to Fikayo Tomori’s opener.
But, make no mistake, he will be disappointed to have let in such a high percentage of shots on target – 83.3, to be precise.
The Blues, in the same breath, must be praised for how clinical they were.
Tammy Abraham’s hat-trick came from just four shots.
More efficient passing
It was not a game full of things to come away smiling about, but there were some positives – Patrick Cutrone opening his gold and black account being the main one.
Another thing which was alright was Wolves’ pass success rate.
In the 3-2 defeat at Everton before the international break, Nuno’s charges had a collective pass success rate of 68 per cent, with midfielder Leander Dendoncker the worst outfield starter with a measly 59 per cent.
Against Chelsea, the team’s was 78 per cent, and the worst outfield starter, with 73 per cent, was Jesus Vallejo.
The dire defending very much carried over from Goodison Park, but Wolves did at least improve with the ball.
Moutinho the top tackler
Wolves made 17 tackles in the clash, and Joao Moutinho came up with six of them.
And his six means he made the most tackles of any player on the pitch.
Wolves’ three-man midfield have not been at the level we have come to expect from them over the past two games, but the 33-year-old certainly put himself about – and had a tackle success rate of 100 per cent.
Left-wing-back Jonny Castro Otto was Wolves’ next best tackler, with three.
Dendoncker, meanwhile, did not make a successful tackle before being taken off.
Cutrone’s off the mark
If you don’t buy a ticket, you won’t win the raffle.
And Cutrone’s persistence after coming on at the start of the second period saw him get off the mark.
It was not a showing full of class – only three of his seven passes found their target – but he displayed endeavour in spades.
His three shots – one on target, one off target and one blocked – were the most of anyone in Wolves colours, and the goal finally came for the former AC Milan man.
Cutrone also won two out of four aerial duels.
Wolves’ best player in that regard was Vallejo, who won four of six aerial battles.
Another damning display
Ultimately, just as they did at Everton, Wolves fell short in most aspects.
Chelsea had 15 shots to Wolves' 11, won 22 aerials compared to Wolves' 17 and made 20 tackles to Wolves' 17.
The Blues also had 54.7 per cent possession, had an 85 pass success rate to Wolves' 78 and made 15 successful dribbles to Wolves' 15.
The only area in which Wolves came out on top was corners, having seven to the Blues' five.
A poor performance. A lot more needed against Braga in the Europa League on Thursday – and then at Crystal Palace in the league on Sunday.
