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LIVE BLOG
90+7min: FULL TIME! Chelsea win.
90+6min: GOAL!! MASON MOUNT!!! Still time for another Batshuayi shot, and a Mason Mount goal! 5-2, CHELSEA!!
90+5min: Zouma with a key interception and leads a slow Chelsea counter before giving the ball away.
90+4min: Otto shapes a shot at goal, Kepa catches routinely.
90+2min: Michy pumps one towards goals with his left; doesn’t miss by much.
90min: Vallejo clears from 3 yards out with Azpi steaming in for a tap-in from Mount’s cross. Mount’s corner is caught by the goalkeeper as 6 minutes of stoppage is announced.
89min: Cutrone tries to buy a penalty off Tomori, but the referee is unmoved and VAR agrees.
88min: Willian wins a free kick wide right. Mount takes, Batshuayi gets to it, but heads wide of the far post.
85min: Goal. Wolves. Gibbs-White finds Doherty running past his defender. His shot is blocked by Kepa, but Cutrone is there to score the rebound. VAR checks for Doherty offside, but confirms the decision. 4-2.
84min: Patricio makes a tremendous save on Batshuayi, who was found by Barkley in the area.
83min: Willian wins the ball in midfield and finds Azpilicueta on the right. His cross is deflected and neither Batshuayi nor Mount can get to it.
80min: Saiss gets a yellow for a foul. Mount swings in the free kick from deep wide right, but Zouma’s header is just over the bar.
76min: Wolves have another corner, Zouma heads clear powerfully and Willian pressure up to force the ball back to midfield. Referee stops play as Abraham goes down with a cramp in Chelsea’s penalty area. He’s then replaced by Batshuayi.
74min: Barkley finds Abraham in the area, but he can’t turn the ball goalward. At the other end, Zouma pumps one clear but Wolves now have some belief.
72min: Doherty tries to buy a penalty by crumpling at the feet of Alonso, after Tomori had given the ball away, but the referee doesn’t fall for it and VAR concurs.
70min: Barkley replaces Kovacic for Chelsea; Gibbs-White on for Jimenez.
69min: Goal. Wolves. Chelsea lose the ball in midfield and Moutinho finds Cutrone in the left channel, but Kepa makes the save. Chelsea head behind the first corner, but Saiss heads in the second. Kepa gets a hand to it, but it bounces in off Abraham. Just can’t stop scoring! Wrong net this time however. 4-1.
66min: Jorginho with another lovely through ball, Mount gets to it ahead of Patricio, but only hits the side-netting from a wide angle. Big miss! Would’ve put money on him to score there.
64min: Christensen gets a well deserved yellow this time, for a professional foul to stop Wolves at midfield.
63min: This time Abraham gets a foul called and a harsh yellow. Moutinho takes the free kick from 35 yards; Christensen heads clear for a corner. Moutinho plays the corner short, then swings it in from a better angle. Abraham heads clear.
61min: Alonso tries to buy a foul but instead is called for a dive by the corner flag. Moutinho swings in the free kick but Chelsea do enough to half-clear at the far post. Wolves keeping up the pressure, but then misplace a switch and Chelsea have a throw.
59min: Willian’s called for a harsh foul as he covers back for Alonso. Moutinho swings it in from just outside the corner of the penalty area, but Abraham clears it with his backheel. Neves’ follow-up shot from distance is high and wild.
57min: Doherty makes his entrance and immediately wins a corner as Tomori blocks. Moutinho takes, Zouma heads partially clear. Wolves play it around and Jota pumps a low ball across the six that fortunately misses everyone.
56min: GOAL!!!! ABRAHAM!!! Chelsea turn defense into attack quickly and Jorginho this time gets his little dink forward right. Abraham picks up the ball, beats Coady 1-v-1 and finishes into the far corner perfectly. Hat-trick for the kid!! 4-0, CHELSEA!!!
55min: Kepa makes an easy catch after Azpilicueta partially blocks a cross and Cutrone can only head it up in the air.
53min: Zouma gets caught up high, then Tomori as he steps in and doesn’t win the ball. Christensen makes a key block, but Wolves continue coming. Adama then slips as he tries to give Alonso the slip and Chelsea can counter with Mount, but his cross is cleared ahead of Abraham.
52min: Chelsea keeping possession for a bit, but Jorginho’s dink through to Mount is too strong. Blues pressure up and win the ball back however.
50min: Wolves keeping up the pressure, but Chelsea keeping a strong defense. Jorginho nips in to intercept a pass, finds Abraham, who wins the free kick in the center circle.
48min: Willian called for a foul in midfield after not getting the call when he was fouled. Wolves win a corner from the free kick, which Moutinho takes short. Kovacic is there to block the second effort for another corner. This time Moutinho goes long, which Chelsea defend well enough, though Wolves retain the ball.
HALF-TIME: Chelsea forced to make a change, bringing on Zouma for Rüdiger. Wolves make an attacking change and bring on Cutrone for Dendoncker.
Rudiger cleared the ball in the first half and his momentum took him 10 yards off the pitch. Looked to be limping from then until half-time.
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) September 14, 2019
45+2min: Jimenez gets his first sniff of the game, but guides his header over the bar. Graham Scott blows for half. What a half!
44min: Alonso heads clear a cross and Kovacic and Jorginho once again combine well to relieve the pressure. This time no counter however as Chelsea misplace a pass in midfield.
41min: GOAL!!! ABRAHAM!!! Willian leads the counter after Kovacic and Jorginho combine to play out, and he shows his pace to beat Coady. His cross doesn’t find a target, but Alonso eventually collects and finds Abraham in the middle who heads home with consummate ease. 3-0, CHELSEA!!!
39min: Adama drives infield from the right and finds Diogo Jota in the area. He takes a touch, which gives Christensen an opportunity to clear.
37min: Wolves looking for a response, targeting Chelsea’s left, but Alonso and Tomori covering well so far.
34min: GOAL!!! ABRAHAM!!! This time Tomori starts the move as he steps into midfield and drives forward finding Mount in the area. He turns and gets pulled back, but the ball runs to Abraham anyway and he turns it home. 2-0, CHELSEA!!!
31min: GOAL!!! TOMORRRRIIIII! Chelsea come forward again, but Azpi’s cross is blocked for a corner. Willian takes it from this side and plays it short. The chance looks gone as Willian gets it back then plays it back to deep center, but Tomori takes a long shot and Rui Patricio completely misplays it. He goes left as the ball curls to the right and into the back of the net!!! 1-0, CHELSEA!!!
29min: Chelsea keeping possession. Abraham drops and plays it through to Azpilicueta on the right. His pass infield finds Willian, who passes up a pass, shrugs off two, but spanks his shot from a decent angle over the bar. First decent chance.
25min: Chelsea step up the tempo for a second, but Alonso’s cross for Abraham is chested back to the goalkeeper instead.
23min: Rüdiger showing a bit of rust and fails to complete a clearance, but Azpilicueta and Jorginho come to his aid and the latter wins a goal kick.
20min: Chelsea win a cheap corner off a lucky bounce. Mount swings it in, it’s low but Rüdiger flicks it on and it almost sneaks it at the near post. Mount’s follow-up corner is headed clear in the six by Dendoncker.
18min: Christensen tries to emulate David Luiz, but gets his long ball for Willian wrong and it runs out for another goal kick.
16min: Chelsea win a throw high up on the left. Willian nearly combines with Alonso, but the return ball is cleared. Chelsea retain possession, but again miss a connection and Wolves have a goal kick.
12min: Chelsea pass it around aimlessly, pump it forward hopelessly. Wolves ball and they string a few passes together to create a cross. Mount recovers to clear from the top of the box.
10min: Chelsea set up shop in Wolves’ half, but Jorginho’s dink is too long for Abraham and Wolves have a goal kick.
7min: Rüdiger heads clear an Adama cross, then Willian wins a foul to help Chelsea get out from under pressure.
4min: Wolves step up a gear, but good covering from Azpilicueta and Rüdiger shuts them down on the left, before Mount does the same on the right. Chelsea come forward but Azpi’s cross is too strong. Alonso collects on the far side but is called for a foul on Adama.
3min: Chelsea pass it around at the back before a Rüdiger long ball just evades Abraham and runs through to the goalkeeper.
KICK-OFF: Chelesa, in all white, Wolves in black and yellow. Wolves get us underway, with the Blues in a back-three indeed.
It’s the pack and it’s the pride and it’s live! Well, not exactly, as the game’s not being shown on television in either the UK or the USA.
But it’s football and it’s back, so let’s get to it.
Here we go!
Wolverhampton Wanderers starting lineup (3-5-2):
R.Patricio | Saiss, Coady, Vallejo | J.Otto, Neves, J.Moutinho, Dendoncker, Adama | Diogo J., R.Jimenez
Substitutes from: Ruddy, Doherty, Neto, Cutrone, Gibbs-White, Vinagre, Kilman
Chelsea starting lineup (3-4-3):
Arrizabalaga | Tomori, Christensen, Rüdiger | Alonso, Jorginho, Kovačić, Azpilicueta (c) | Mount, Abraham, Willian
Substitutes from: Caballero, Zouma, Barkley, Pulisic, Pedro, Giroud, Batshuayi
Date / Time: Saturday, September 14, 2019; 15:00 BST; 10am EDT; 7:30pm IST
Venue: Molineux, Wolverhampton, England
Referee: Graham Scott
On TV: none (UK); none (USA); elsewhere
Streaming: NBC Sports Gold (USA); Chelsea TV (audio commentary only — int’l)
Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes!