Wolves went back to basics to earn their first Premier League clean sheet in 12 games and earn a valuable point at Stamford Bridge. It was Chelsea’s first game under recently appointed Head Coach Thomas Tuchel and Nuno’s men deserve great credit for taming their motivated opponents who will have been keen to impress their new boss. Wolves had very little possession throughout the 90 minutes and this may be frustrating to some, but they still fashioned two of the best chances of the game courtesy of Leander Dendoncker and Pedro Neto. It was not pretty, but it could prove vital in the long run as Wolves look to put a run of form together and get back into the top half of the table.
Rui Patricio
Despite Wolves being on the back foot for the majority of the game, Rui Patricio was largely untroubled. He did however make a vital save from Pulisic’s deflected shot late on as well as commanding and organising the area well from Chelsea’s many set pieces. 7/10
Willy Boly
This was certainly much more like the Boly we have come to know and love. The Ivorian international was there to meet every cross in the box, block every shot and win every challenge. His perfectly timed sliding tackle on the edge of the box in the second half was a thing of beauty while doing the simple things very well which is hugely important in games like this. The Wolves man of the match for sure. 9/10
Conor Coady
Like Boly, it was a case of back to his best for captain Conor Coady after being substituted in the Black Country Derby defeat. Coady’s leadership and organisation was once again evident while he was there to block the dangerous low crosses the few times Chelsea managed to get in behind the wing backs. 8/10
Max Kilman
A welcome return to the side for Max Kilman who has more than made his claim to become a mainstay in the side. One familiar theme in this inconsistent season is when Max Kilman plays, Wolves are very solid. This was once again the case as Kilman worked hard to deny Chelsea any clear-cut chances. He was not his usual calm presence on the ball, giving it away on a few occasions. But with Chelsea’s high-intensity press and Wolves’ need for a clean sheet it was the defensive side of his game that was the most important. 7/10
Nelson Semedo
An impressive night’s work from Semedo who played the first half in his familiar right wing-back position but switched to left wing-back in the second half as Ryan Ait-Nouri was forced off through injury. Semedo’s defensive side of his game is certainly showing improvements. He was out quickly to block the cross as well as an evident improvement in his positional play. He certainly looks far more comfortable as wing back than a full back and this is likely to be on Nuno’s mind as he looks to get the most of out of Wolves’ £37m man. 7/10
Leander Dendoncker
If ever there was a game to sum up Dendoncker’s season it was this one. The Belgium international worked tirelessly in midfield, closing down Chelsea’s dangerous midfielders before they could fashion a chance and aiming to release the ball quickly to relive pressure. However, two of Wolves’ only chances fell to Dendoncker, neither of which went close and this is an aspect of his game he must improve on. 6/10
Ruben Neves
It was an impressive performance from Neves who, like Dendoncker, played an important role in the midfield which ultimately protected the back line and prevented Chelsea creating any clear-cut chances. He wasted a free kick in a promising position early on, sending it way over Mendy’s goal, but it was his tireless defensive work that went a long way to securing a point for Wolves. 7/10
Rayan Ait-Nouri
A difficult 45 minutes for Ait-Nouri who was substituted at half time having picked up a knock in the first half. In truth the young wing-back struggled as Calum Hudson-Odoi posed a threat down the right-hand side. Luckily, Chelsea’s forwards were not on the same wavelength and the introduction of Ki-Jana Hoever tightened things up for Wolves in the second half. 5/10
Adama Traore
It was a disappointing night for Traore who has to be at his best for a front three without a recognised striker to work. Traore was seen slipping on various occasions and never really got going. He won free kicks when trying to break away, but many were still in the Wolves half. On the rare occasions, Traore did get the ball higher up the pitch, he failed to create anything and left the field to be replaced by Moutinho late on. 5/10
Daniel Podence
Podence struggled to get into the game from minute one and was outmuscled by Rudiger and Silva with no real chance of linking the play to his fellow forwards. Podence certainly enjoys playing off a striker to allow him to move around the ball and run into space, something he had little chance of doing when Wolves spent the majority of the game defending and hitting hopeful clearances towards him. 5/10
Pedro Neto
Wolves’ player of the season so far cut a frustrated figure in Wednesday evenings draw as he saw little of the ball as Wolves happily conceded possession to Chelsea. Unlike his fellow forwards however, Neto did have some good moments on the ball, running at the Chelsea defence to win the free kick in the first half and also had Wolves’ best chance of the game as his chip hit the top of the crossbar in the final ten minutes. 6/10
Subs:
Ki-Jana Hoever
Brought on at half time and went straight into his familiar position at right wing back. As was the case in the narrow defeat at Old Trafford, Hoever was excellent defensively, giving little away and listening to the help and support of his senior centre backs. He had little opportunity to showcase his ability going forwards but did help to get Wolves up the pitch down the right-hand side in the closing stages of the game. 7/10
Willian Jose
The new man was a surprise inclusion in the matchday squad having only joined the squad earlier in the day. Such was Wolves’ need for a physical striker, he was thrown straight into the thick of the action with twenty minutes remaining but had little opportunities in the Chelsea area. He did, however, hold the ball up well and help Wolves keep possession higher up the pitch than they had done prior to his introduction. 6/10
Joao Moutinho
Came on for the closing stages of the game to ensure Wolves’ saw out a vitally important point and clean sheet. 6/10
Ciaran Barker is part of the Talking Wolves editorial team – you can follow him on Twitter here.