Football Update: EPL News- Chelsea Wins Against Wolverhampton
On Saturday, Chelsea hosted Wolverhampton in English Premier League, winning the easy match by 2-0. This victory gives Chelsea a comfortable lead on top of English Premier League table, with Manchester City playing against Arsenal on Sunday.
Carlo Ancelotti, the manager of Chelsea, put up a very strong side against Wolves. In the absence of Frank Lampard and Ramirez, the Russian Yuri Zhirkov started in the attacking midfield. He played just behind Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, and in front
of Michael Essien and John Mikel Obi. Also, the Portuguese right back, Jose Bosingwa, started after being out for almost a year. Ancelotti used all his available options, despite the fact that Chelsea was up against a team struggling in the relegation zone.
Wolves had failed to win any match in their English Premier League season, since the starting day in August. On the other hand, Chelsea has made Stamford Bridge into their fortress, where scoring is almost impossible by any team of repute. Wolves, like predicted,
failed to score anything, losing the match by 2-0. First goal was scored by Florent Malouda, while the substitute, Salomon Kalou, scored the second one in the closing minutes.
The match did not start well for Chelsea, as Wolves started attacking the giants from the very first whistle. The real threat came from crosses and corners, but Wolves failed to capitalize on any of the early opportunities. Rather, they looked vulnerable
on the counter attacks, as they left a lot of spaces when they went for attacks. Also, Chelsea looked weak in their midfield, when Mikel Obi lost possession on a couple of occasions, but the threats were cleared by the defenders.
The goal came in the 23rd minute, from a counter-attack, involving Anelka, Malouda and Zhirkov. Anelka fed a good pass to Zhirkov, in the box, who pushed the ball back into the feet of Malouda. The Frenchman made no mistake as he pushed the ball
back into goal, scoring his 7th goal in his 7th match of the season.
After a few minutes, Chelsea found themselves in a similar kind of scoring opportunity. This time, Zhirkov was once again involved in the counter attack, as he took the ball and fed it to Drogba. The striker then passed it to the charging Anelka, but the
shot from French striker went wide. Zhirkov was giving a lot of trouble to Wolves, especially during the counter attacks, because of his pace.
There were a couple of chances for the visitors to level the match, but they could not do so. On rare occasions, they were able to get a save out of Petr Cech, while some of the opportunities were completely wasted. Chelsea also had their chances to increase
their lead, but they were also unlucky on some occasions. Nevertheless, first half ended with home side leading the visitors by 1-0.
At the start of second half, Wolves introduced Stephen Hunt, a former Reading player who was involved in Cech’s accident resulting in a broken skull. Hunt did not get a good reception from the Chelsea supporters, but he was the one who had the first chance
of second half. However, Hunt failed to capitalize on the chance to level the match. Chances were given by both sides, but the score-line remained the same till the 80th minute.
In the 80th minute, Kalou, who came as a substitute for Malouda, received a pass from Essien, which he put behind in an easy way. The match ended with a 2-0 victory for the home team, but Wolves did not play a bad game either.
Chelsea now increased their lead by five points, as Manchester City would face Arsenal. The match would be tough, but City needs to win if they want to keep Chelsea in sight.
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