Chelsea beat Wolves as Diego Costa fails to fire on Stamford Bridge return
Football
By
Associated Press
| Oct 08, 2022
Christian Pulisic made the most of a rare start by scoring in a 3-0 win for Chelsea over Wolverhampton on Saturday to cap a good week for new manager Graham Potter.
The American forward was handed just his second English Premier League start this season and made it 2-0 with a delicate chip in the 49th minute at Stamford Bridge.
Kai Havertz headed home a cross from Mason Mount on the stroke of halftime after Chelsea dominated the opening 45 minutes, and Armando Broja added the third in the 89th for his first Chelsea goal.
Potter made seven changes and switched systems from Wednesday's 3-0 Champions League win over AC Milan. Chelsea still looked fluid and overwhelmed Wolves, who are without a manager after Bruno Lage's sacking. They fell to a third straight loss.
Chelsea saw six shots and one header sail wide in the first half, and it took a top-level save from Jose Sa to thwart Pulisic's long-range strike towards the top corner.
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In first-half injury time, though, Havertz popped up at the far post to head home Mount's lofted cross.
Chelsea wasted little time to double that lead after the restart. Pulisic traded passes with Mount to skip into the box on the inside left, then deliver a deft finish to beat the advancing Sa.
Former Chelsea striker Diego Costa made his debut for Wolves and claimed the biggest reception of the day when he was substituted, taking a lap of honor as he slowly walked along the touchline toward the Wolves dugout.
Brojca's goal came when fellow substitute Mateo Kovacic threaded through to the forward, who cut back from the defensive cover before drilling into the net.