Chelsea’s Noni Madueke, center, celebrates scoring with teammates during the English Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea at Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, England. Sunday Aug. 25, 2024. (Joe Giddens/PA via AP)
Noni Madueke netted a hattrick while Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer and Joao Felix all got on the scoresheet for Chelsea in a 6-2 win against the Wolves opened their points tally for the season.
Chelsea registered their first points of the season on Sunday with a 6-2 thrashing of Wolves at the Molineux, while Bournemouth and Newcastle had to settle for a 1-1 stalemate at the Vitality Stadium.
Noni Madueke netted a hattrick while Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer and Joao Felix got on the scoresheet for Chelsea.
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca opted to start Robert Sanchez in goal with Marc Cucurella, Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana and Malo Guso making up the defensive line.
Enzo Fernandes, Moises Caicedo and Cole Palmer held the midfield with Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke on the flanks. Jackson was deployed uptop and came good.
Sa was in goal for the hosts Wolves, while Matt Doherty, Yerson Mosquera, Toti Gomes and Rayan Ait-Nouri made up the defensive four. Joao Gomes, Mario Lemina and Matheus Cunha were in the middle of the park, while Jean‐Ricner Bellegarde and Hwang Hee-Chan were on the left and right wings with Jorgen Strand Larsen starting as the forward.
Nicolas Jackson opened his tally for the season as he popped the ball into the back of the net in the second minute of the game to give the Blues the lead on the road.
Cole Palmer’s corner in from the right was headed onto the Senegalese striker lurking near the far post by Wesley Fofana, and Jackson made no mistake in turning the ball past the Wolves custodian Jose Sa with a header to put his side in the driving seat.
Cunha nullified the visitors’ advantage in the 27th minute of the game to restore parity, but the blues pulled ahead as Palmer scored in the 45th minute with Jackson providing the assist this time around.
Wolves hit back before the break through striker Strand Larsen, who ensured the sides would go into the tunnel at the midway point in the game with nothing between them.
However, the blues turned the tide of the game in the second period as Madueke scored a hattrick to give the London side a three-goal cushion before new signing Joao Felix came off the bench to add insult to injury
Bournemouth 1-1 Newcastle
The Cherries seized a first-half lead as Marcus Tavernier sent a bulge into the net in the 37th minute of the game to put the hosts ahead. However, the hosts were pegged back in the 76th minute thanks to an Anthony Gordon strike for the Magpies in the 76th minute to salvage a point on the road for Eddie Howe’s men.