Chelsea 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Chelsea are into the 2020/21 Champions League thanks to a well-earned victory over Wolves, which secured them fourth place on a dramatic last day in the longest ever Premier League.
This Premier League clash was one of the most-watched games of the weekend, with a win guaranteeing the Blues a top-four spot. Here at SBOBET, we backed the Chelsea to win, and two goals in first-half injury time sealed the deal.
Frank Lampard is a passionate man and a Chelsea legend, and he’ll mark this as one of his best achievements, taking the Blues into Europe’s top competition in his first season in charge, and with a young squad to work with.
Wolves drop to seventh but they can be proud of another strong showing in their second season back in the top flight.
Highlights of the game
The Premier League 2020 news in the run-up to the game was all about Chelsea’s Champions League push and, after a nervy start, they finished the job in style.
The Blues had the first effort on goal on 10 minutes, winning a free-kick in a dangerous area which Mason Mount swung in, but Reece James glanced his header narrowly wide.
There were few chances in a stop-start first half, with no shots on target until the cusp of half-time, and it was a moment of pure quality that finally broke the deadlock.
Marcos Alonso won a free-kick some 20 yards out, and when Mount stepped up to take the kick he had one thing in mind, curling a beauty over the wall and into the corner of the net.
Mount has been such a big player in Chelsea’s season as one of Lampard’s young stars, and he showed his quality once again in first-half stoppage time, taking a ball from Christian Pulisic before sliding it through for Olivier Giroud to continue his purple patch and net his eighth of the season.
Giroud was out in the cold for much of the first half of the season but an injury to top scorer Tammy Abraham paved the way for his return, and he has repaid the faith shown in him by Lampard.
Those two quick-fire goals finished the match and capped off Chelsea’s fine season, and they will strengthen further to make an assault in Europe and the Premier League over the next 12 months.
Key statistics
Defeat to Liverpool last week displayed all of Chelsea’s attacking prowess and defensive frailty; today they responded brilliantly, with a ruthless end to the first half and a calm second period in which they limited the Wolves’ strikers to scraps.
Lampard dropped goalkeeper Kepa for this game after a poor spell of form and opted for the more experienced Willy Caballero, but the veteran stopper had little to do, with only one shot to save.
The pre-match Premier League 2020 betting odds at 1.83 on a Blues win looked about right as Nuno Espirito Santo’s team looked jaded after a long Premier League and Europa League campaign.
This much-expected result means Chelsea finish the season with six home wins and they are unbeaten on their last seven matches against Wolves at Stamford Bridge. The end to the season was a bit of an anti-climax for the visitors who have lost five of their six closing day matches in the Premier League.
What’s next?
Chelsea won’t have time to rest on their laurels as they are still fighting on two fronts. The Blues have a mountain to climb in the Champions League with a three-goal deficit to make up on FC Bayern, but before that, they face Arsenal in the all-London FA Cup final.
How Lampard would love to add his first trophy as Chelsea boss to his impressive opening season.
The West Londoners will want to improve again next season and have been recruiting well, with the addition of Timo Werner sending out a message to their rivals. If they can add Bayer Leverkusen’s Kai Havertz they will be a force to be reckoned with.
On the 6th August Wolves are in Europa League action with a home game against Olympiacos at Molineux. Nuno’s men drew the first leg 1-1 and will hope to advance. They have a chance to qualify for next season’s Champions League by winning the trophy and they have a realistic chance.
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