Wolves boss Vitor Pereira heaps praise on Chelsea and explains what Blues did to exploit them in 3-1 victory

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Chelsea’s 3-1 home victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers last night was well deserved after a dominant performance.

Apart from a small blip at the end of the first half, Chelsea were well on top as they returned to winning ways against Wolves. It ended a run of five Premier League games without a win, plus it moved them back into the top four.

Tosin Adarabioyo, Marc Cucurella and Noni Madueke were all on the scoresheet for the hosts at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca applauded Cole Palmer’s display versus Wolves despite the fact he didn’t score, too.

Next, the Blues travel to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening to play fifth-placed Manchester City in a crunch fixture.

• READ MORE: Chelsea player ratings vs Wolves as Trevoh Chalobah stars and one player scores 3/10

Wolves boss Vitor Pereira compliments Chelsea after beating his side

Vitor Pereira, the Wolves manager, paid tribute to opponents Chelsea after yesterday’s result. In particular, the Portuguese coach highlighted how the Blues exploited the fact they were in a low defensive block.

“We faced a strong team with players that one against one can create chances,” Pereira said via the Premier League’s official website.

“We didn’t start the game in the way I like, we defended too much in a low block. We decided to change the wingers and after that we started to look more compact. The pressure from the front line wasn’t the right pressure against this team, and they created problems.”

Jamie Carragher thought the Chelsea support seemed flat against Wolves, suggesting that the team’s recent poor run was a potential cause. However, the Blues fanbase will be significantly lifted by what they saw on Monday.

Maresca’s side were well on top after recording 19 shots compared to 9 from Wolves (BBC). Most importantly, they avoided going off the boil in the second half, which has been a recent trend for them.

Will Chelsea still be in the top four by the end of February?

As it stands, Chelsea are back in the top four positions as they desperately try to qualify for the Champions League, which could yet go to the top five teams.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	21	15	5	1	50	20	30	50
2	ArsenalArsenal	22	12	8	2	43	21	22	44
3	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	22	13	5	4	33	22	11	44
4	ChelseaChelsea	22	11	7	4	44	27	17	40
5	Man CityManchester City	22	11	5	6	44	29	15	38
6	NewcastleNewcastle	22	11	5	6	38	26	12	38

Chelsea picked up what felt like a must-win result against Wolves yesterday to stop their recent struggles ahead of a massive trip to Man City.

Here is a look at who the Blues play in their next five league fixtures:

• Manchester City vs Chelsea (25 January)
• Chelsea vs West Ham (3 February)
• Brighton vs Chelsea (14 February)
• Aston Villa vs Chelsea (22 February)
• Chelsea vs Southampton (25 February)

We’ve learned from the recent run-in that the Premier League is so unpredictable this year. In fact, it can often suit Chelsea when opponents do open up a bit and give them a bit of space.