Chelsea: Four lessons learnt in embarrassing loss at Wolves

4. Thiago Silva continues to be incredible

Chelsea’s back line may have been under fire for a good portion of the match, but things could have been much worse for the Blues if it wasn’t for timely interventions by Thiago Silva. Looking purely at the numbers, Silva was the only player to block a shot (2), was tied for most successful tackles (2) and most interceptions (2), while not registering a single foul. That’s a solid day at the office for a centerback, and the eye test only serves to strengthen the argument that Silva was, in fact, excellent, even in the face of a loss with two goals conceded.

One of those interceptions was a sliding effort as Wolves broke out on a counter, with Silva sprinting to cut out a diagonal ball that would have put Wolves in a prime position to score. Silva’s positioning and intelligence are one thing, but the wizened old veteran still has the physical tools to make the spectacular play when need be.

It would be fair to say that Silva didn’t do much to prevent Wolves’ winning goal in stoppage time, but a distinct lack of Ben Chilwell on the left as Adama Traore steamed down his flank left Silva trying to cut off a potential passing lane for Neto. Kurt Zouma did the right thing by showing the Portuguese onto his left foot and away from the goal, but the shot was simply too good.

The dirty truth is that, without Silva’s excellence as a player and as the general of the back line, Chelsea probably loses this match by a much uglier margin, such was Wolves’ domination at times. He is comfortably Chelsea’s most impactful signing of the season so far. It may be difficult to heap praise on a defender when the team lost and played poorly in general, but in this particular case, Silva still deserves credit for preventing what could have been a season-changing massacre.

What are some of the things you learned in the match? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!