Wolves produced a stunning comeback at Stamford Bridge as Conor Coady snatched a first Premier League point in four matches in the last seconds of the game, despite boss Bruno Lage missing the trip through Covid.
Romelu Lukaku looked to have sown the game up for the Blues with an hour on the clock, having scored twice – the first from the penalty spot and the second a well-placed effort from the edge of the box – but Wolves came fighting back after a raft of inspired substitutions by Lage, who was speaking to his assistants via phone while watching the game at home.
One of those changes, Francisco Trincao made it 2-1 when he found the top corner from 20 yards out, before another change, Chiquinho, played a beautiful ball into the box in the final minute of added time to find the head of Coady, who made no mistake from close range.
Looking to cement third place in the league standings, Chelsea came out of the blocks the quicker of the two sides and were on top in the early stages at the Bridge, as both Jonny and Conor Coady made crucial tackles to stop the blue shirts in full flow.
Chelsea got their first shot on target just inside the 10-minute mark, when Timo Werner was played into space on the left and aimed an effort inside the far post, but Jose Sa got a strong hand to the ball to stop it reaching the target.
Wolves’ best chance to take the lead came via set-pieces as Romain Saiss twice got his head to the ball inside the Chelsea penalty area, but he was unable to direct his efforts at Edouard Mendy’s goal.
The hosts did eventually put the ball in the back of the net, but it was in vain as Werner was penalised for a foul in Saiss in the build-up. Moments later, Romelu Lukaku was unable to squeeze the ball beyond Sa from a tight angle.
Wolves were given another let-off just before the break as VAR intervened as Chelsea believed they had taken the lead. A corner appeared to have fallen to Ruben Loftus-Cheek at the far post, and the midfielder hammered the ball into the top of the net from two yards out, but after inspection, the Chelsea man was just in front of Rudiger as the ball hit the defender on the leg in the build-up.
Before the break, the visitors had two glorious opportunities to open the scoring, but a lack of composure in the final third was Wolves’ downfall.
First, Leander Dendoncker fired over from a good position after Pedro Neto had seen a shot palmed back into the danger area by Mendy, before Ait-Nouri was picked out on the left by the Portuguese winger and having ran half of the length of the field, he fired well over the crossbar.
Half-time | Chelsea 0-0 Wolves
For the number of chances which were not turned into goals in the first-half of the game, the game was the complete opposite after the break, with almost every effort turning into goals.
Chelsea took the lead on 55 minutes when a clumsy challenge by Saiss on Lukaku led to a penalty. Initially not given by referee Peter Bankes, the official was directed by VAR to take a second look at the video screen, and after a review, it was given. The Chelsea striker stepped up and sent Sa the wrong way from the spot.
It took just three minutes for the hosts to extend their lead. Wolves were the creators of their own downfall when Coady and Neves combined to give possession back to Chelsea, and Lukaku made no mistake from the edge of the box to fire a first-time shot into the bottom corner.
Despite watching from home, Lage ran the changes with 20 minutes remaining, bringing on Hee Chan Hwang and Chiquinho in search of a goal which would halve the deficit. But it was another substitute, Trincao, who would make the decisive touch.
The winger was picked out on the right by Chiquinho and cut inside onto his left before firing a unstoppable curled effort into the top corner.
The goal changed the tide of the game and Wolves were in the ascendancy with the game entering six minutes of added time. Jimenez and Trincao both had chances that flashed wide of the post, before the visitors got their equalising goal in the last second of the match.
Ait-Norui’s clever ball into the Chelsea box wasn’t cleared, leaving Chiquinho alone on the right with space to whip a cross into the box, and that’s exactly what the winger did, curling a stunning cross right onto the head of the onrushing Coady who could not miss from a matter of yards out, sending the travelling Wolves supporters wild.
Full-time | Chelsea 2-2 Wolves
Chelsea | Mendy, James, Azpilicueta (Sarr 86), Silva, Rudiger, Alonso (Saul 46), Kovacic, Loftus-Cheek, Pulisic, Werner, Lukaku (Havertz 90).
Unused subs | Kepa, Christensen, Chalobah, Barkley, Mount, Ziyech.
Wolves | Sa, Jonny, Boly, Coady, Saiss (Chiquinho 70), Ait-Nouri, Neves (Trincao 77), Moutinho, Dendoncker, Neto (Hwang 70), Jimenez.
Unused subs | Ruddy, Hoever, Toti, Marcal, Cundle, Silva.
Referee | Peter Bankes
