Cole Palmer gave the Blues a first-half lead by finishing off a fine team move which involved our midfield trio of Enzo Fernandez, Conor Gallagher and Moises Caicedo, but our joy - and the lead - was shortlived.

Our habit of giving away possession inside our own half was ultimately punished, beginning when Matheus Cunha's shot was deflected past Djordje Petrovic off Thiago Silva. Things got worse shortly before half-time when another ricochet, this time from Rayan Ait-Nouri's effort, left us trailing at the break.

That continued when a third ricochet released Wolves down the right for Cunha's second and the Brazilian was able to complete his hat-trick from the penalty spot after Malo Gusto's foul, which meant Thiago Silva's late header to make it 4-2 was merely a consolation, despite 10 minutes of added time.

Shaky start

We were given some early warning signs of Wolves’ plan to press high and make life uncomfortable for the Blues defenders on the ball, requiring Djordje Petrovic to spring into action twice during the opening three minutes after we had given away possession inside our own half, the Serbian denying first Pedro Neto and then Matheus Cunha.

However, we responded and started to carry a threat of our own, Christopher Nkunku going close after beating Wolves keeper Jose Sa to Enzo Fernandez’s through-ball, but the angle was difficult and Craig Dawson managed to recover in time to block the shot.

It was an early sign of Nkunku beginning to link up with his team-mates on just his second start since joining Chelsea from Leipzig in the summer. There was more when he began a lovely flowing move which swept from left to right for the Blues, ending with Cole Palmer taking on the defenders to make room for the shot, but it was deflected wide.

Ahead but not for long

Cole was taking every opportunity to run at the Wolves back line, with Mario Lemina shifting across to help the defenders and leaving space for our own midfielders to play, which proved important when the opening goal arrived.

Our central trio made full use of that space as Enzo found Conor Gallagher, who in turn flicked it around the corner to Moises Caicedo in plenty of room to pick his pass. He made the most of it, sliding a perfectly weighted ball in behind for Palmer to finish first-time with his right foot.

Unfortunately Wolves hit straight back, though, as we failed to heed those early warnings of the visitors’ threat. Caicedo was dispossessed in the centre of the pitch under pressure from two players, allowing Joao Gomes to charge forward and lay it off for Cunha. The luck was against us too, when his shot took a wicked deflection off Thiago Silva, completely wrong-footing Petrovic as the ball bounced in at the near post.

Behind at the break

Our best opening before the break fell to Raheem Sterling, when he was found by a clever Ben Chilwell free-kick on the right, but he couldn’t keep his powerful effort down at the near post.

The first 45 minutes had seen Chelsea enjoy the better of the play and possession, although Wolves had looked the more dangerous going forward, with their rotating front three carrying a constant threat on the counter.

That paid off for Wanderers shortly before half-time, as we were harshly punished by another big deflection. This time it came off Axel Disasi when Rayan Ait-Nouri met Neto's low cross, changing the flight of the ball drastically to leave Petrovic helpless to prevent the away side taking a 2-1 lead.

The second half started with yet another warning, this time Malo Gusto being dispossessed in a dangerous area, but Petrovic was able to save Neto’s resulting shot relatively comfortably. In a lively restart Gusto then nearly had an impact at the other end. He cleverly cushioned Palmer’s curling ball over the top into the path of Sterling, but the winger’s half-volley skimmed wide of the right-hand post.

Punished again

Despite the momentum swinging more in Chelsea's direction, we found ourselves two goals behind, with another big slice of luck helping Wolves. This time a ricochet played in Neto with space to run into on the right, and time to cut the ball back for Cunha to net his second of the game.

We weren't down and out yet, though, as we kept pushing, substitute Nicolas Jackson going the closest yet to a second goal for the Blues when he headed Gusto's enticing cross just wide.

However, with Wolves two goals ahead they were able to commit more and more bodies to defence, making it even harder for Chelsea to carve out opportunities and leaving the Blues frustrated in our efforts to get back into the game. That frustration eventually told, when Gusto slid in with a rash challenge in the box, giving Cunha the chance to complete his hat-trick from the penalty spot.

There was still time for Chelsea to pull one back late on, when Thiago Silva headed in Mykhailo Mudryk's corner, but by that point it was nothing more than a consolation for the Blues, and a small one at that.

What is next

Attention switches to the FA Cup for our fourth round replay at Aston Villa, with kick-off at 8pm on Wednesday 7 February, before we return to Premier League action away at Crystal Palace on Monday 12 February.

The teams

Chelsea (4-3-3): Petrovic; Gusto (Gilchrist 81), Disasi, Thiago Silva, Chilwell (c) (Badiashile 81); Gallagher, Caicedo (Jackson 63), Enzo; Palmer, Nkunku (Chukwuemeka 72), Sterling (Mudryk 72)
Unused subs: Bergstrom, Bettinelli, Casadei, Madueke
Scorers: Palmer 19, Thiago Silva 86
Booked: Gusto 31, Caicedo 56, Chilwell 78

Wolves (3-4-3): Sa; Kilman (c), Dawson, Toti; Semedo, Lemina , Gomes (Doherty 90), Ait-Nouri (H. Bueno 87); Sarabia (Bellegarde 72), Cunha, Neto (Doyle 72)
Unused subs: Bentley, S. Bueno, Griffiths, Chirewa, Fraser
Scorers: Cunha 22, 63, pen 82, Ait-Nouri 43
Booked: Semedo 38, Neto 41

Referee: Tim Robinson

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