Cunha hat-trick as Wolves come back to stun Chelsea

Matheus Cunha scored a hat-trick as Wolves came from behind to stun Chelsea and replace the Blues in the top half of the Premier League table.

Cole Palmer gave Mauricio Pochettino’s hosts a 19th-minute lead when he calmly slotted past Jose Sa following Moises Caicedo’s defence-splitting pass.

But Wolves levelled less than three minutes later when Cunha’s shot took a significant deflection off Thiago Silva and wrong-footed Djordje Petrovic.

The turnaround was complete shortly before the break, courtesy of another deflected shot, as Rayan Ait-Nouri met Pedro Neto’s cutback and sent the ball in off Axel Disasi.

The home supporters greeted the half-time whistle with boos but Chelsea were unable to produce a fightback of their own, instead falling two goals behind when the electric Neto beat Silva for pace and picked out Cunha for his second.

The Brazilian then completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot after being brought down by Malo Gusto, sending Petrovic the wrong way with eight minutes remaining to put the result beyond doubt before Silva headed in a late consolation.

Wolves’ thoroughly deserved victory moved Gary O’Neil’s side up to 10th, one point and one place above Chelsea after 23 games.