There were times when Enzo Maresca seemed to have the weight of the world on his shoulders. The Italian mooched around his technical area, bemoaning Chelsea’s frantic play and calling for calm. Panic had set in after another lead was frittered away, shoddy handling from the erratic Robert Sánchez gifting a mediocre Wolves an equaliser at the end of an average first half, and the winless Premier League run was in danger of ticking up to six.
However, while Sánchez remains an accident waiting to happen in goal, at least Chelsea had a second half to correct matters against one of the leakiest defences in the Premier League. The nerves faded when Marc Cucurella restored the advantage after an hour. Authority returned and although this was far from Chelsea’s most stylish win of the season, it was enough to capitalise on Newcastle’s setback against Bournemouth and see Maresca’s side take fourth place off Manchester City before they visit the champions on Saturday.
