Wolves 2-1 Chelsea player ratings: Badiashile takes the fall in defeat
Chelsea traveled to Molineux for Matchday 18 after winning and keeping a clean sheet against Sheffield United last week. There was optimism, optimism that soon vanished when the lineup came out and Benoit Badiashile was not in the starting lineup. It turned out to be another difficult game for the Blues. The hosts took the lead early in the second half and doubled that lead in added time before Mauricio Pochettino's men effectively scored a consolation goal in the 96th minute. Here is how we rate the individual performances:
Djordje Petrovic: 7.5/10
Petrovic has been fantastic since he came in. His passing and shot-stopping were very good on the day. There was little more he could've done for any of the goals Wolves scored. Petrovic has now conceded as many league goals as games played.
Malo Gusto: 6/10
Gusto's tackling has been impeccable since he came into the side. His tackling was great again against Wolves. He didn't do many other things well, but his dribbling and chance creation were good. He won 3/3 ground duels, underlining his dominance in defensive duels, even though he only won 1/4 aerial duels.
Axel Disasi: 7/10
Disasi was good against Wolves. He won all the duels he contested in the game except two. His long passing was lacking, but he finished the game as the Chelsea defender with the most defensive actions (7), according to Sofascore.
Thiago Silva: 4/10
Silva did not cover himself in glory in this one. He won 2/4 of the tackles he attempted, and though his passing was great, he made an error that led to a Wolves chance.
Levi Colwill: 7.5/10
Colwill won all but one defensive duel. He completed all three tackles he attempted and won 6/7 ground duels. His passing was also very good, completing 94% of his 47 passes, though he created nothing.
Lesley Ugochukwu: 6/10
Ugochukwu's distribution was poor but he was very good defensively. He won all three aerials duels he contested as well as 50% of the six ground duels he was involved in. He had to be taken off due to injury in the 59' minute unfortunately.
Conor Gallagher: 7/10
Gallagher was good again on and off the ball. His distribution was as good as it has been this season, and he won about half of his defensive duels. He made an impressive 10 passes into the final third, starting many attacks.
Cole Palmer: 6/10
It was clear the moment Palmer resorted to just crossing the ball into the box Hakim Ziyech-style, desperate to get the ball into the danger area through the fastest route possible. He completed 0/5 crosses against Wolves. He also created three chances, but he was not very effective. His dribbling was poor and he lost 7/10 duels.
Nicolas Jackson: 4/10
The only person that can explain why Jackson was playing behind a striker against Wolves, is Pochettino. Jackson was ineffective in that role, but he couldn't be expected to be effective because he's not an attacking midfielder. His dribbling suffered as he completed 0/3, which is uncharacteristic of him.
Raheem Sterling: 7.5/10
Sterling was Chelsea's best attacker on the day. He would have also finished the game with 0 crosses completed (out of 4), if his cross in the 96th minute did not connect with Christopher Nkunku's head to pull one back to half Wolverhampton's lead, too little too late.
Armando Broja: 6/10
Broja used his strength well, but he got little service.
Mykhailo Mudryk (59'): 5/10
Mudryk was more impactful out of possession than he was in it. He made two tackles, but completed zero crosses, zero dribbles and created zero chances.
Christopher Nkunku (59'): 8/10
The introduction of Nkunku into the match made glaring the sheer lack of technical quality in the final third, as he alone took three shots on target, accounting for 60% of the shots on target Chelsea took as a team. Nkunku eventually came up with the goal, albeit too late.
Benoit Badiashile (80'): 3/10
Badiashile effectively made another error leading to goal for the second game in a row in all competitions. It was an unavoidable error, because he was overrunning the ball, and did the only thing he could do to prevent the ball from just sliding past him, he was caught between a rock and a hard place. He couldn't let the ball slide past him, but he also couldn't do anything about Matt Doherty who was free in Chelsea's box waiting to pounce on any loose ball. He did win all the duels he contested though.
Ian Maatsen(80'): 3/10
Maatsen did nothing of note. He won 0/1 tackles, 0/1 ground duels and 0/1 aerial duels.
Noni Madueke(80'): 6/10
Madueke was effective, and it is one of the few times he has been. The youngster completed some well taken crosses that could have been assists on another day.
Mauricio Pochettino: 2/10
Wolves were more threatening than Chelsea, and that is something Pochettino is responsible for. The Blues were not comfortable, at any point in the game. The discussion around him in the fanbase has shifted from "you can't surely think he's the problem!" to "we can't sack him! Who would we replace him with?", which says it all.