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Wolverhampton 1 – 0 Chelsea

Wolves rose out of the drop zone with a deserved win to add more pressure on to defending champions Chelsea. The hosts opened the scoring on six minutes when defender Jose Boswinga directed the ball into his own net from Stephen Hunt's inswinging corner. Chelsea improved, with Salomon Kalou denied by goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey and Didier Drogba hitting the upright. Florent Malouda shot wide for the Blues but they ran out of ideas as Wolves wasted chances to score again. And so the stuttering form shows no sign of improving for the west Londoners, who have won only one of their last nine league games - their worst run for 14 years. When the two sides met at Stamford Bridge in October, Chelsea won 2-0 to move five points clear at the top of the table. Less than three months on, and Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti sees his men struggling in fifth place and in danger of missing out on Champions League football next season. Wolves manager Mick McCarthy's team on the other hand secured their fourth victory in seven games and, although they sit dangerously one place above the relegation zone, their battling qualities and form suggest they could stay up. Ancelotti had said ahead of this match he felt lucky he still had the Chelsea job but the Italian would have been left reappraising his fortune after only five minutes at Molineux when his side conceded the sloppy opener. The warning signs had been there as Peter Cech had already had to palm away a stinging shot from Ronald Zubar but immediately afterwards the Blues goalkeeper could only watch in horror as defender Boswinga shinned the ball into his own net from Hunt's corner. Chelsea struggled to contend with the pressing nature of Wolves' 4-4-2 formation, as well as the slippery surface, and were grateful to see Kevin Doyle shoot tamely at Cech following a surging run towards the box by the impressive Zubar. The visitors though gradually found more time on the ball with Portuguese midfielder Ramires pulling the strings and they came agonisingly close to an equaliser on the half-hour. Malouda burst through the left side of the defence for the first time and crossed for Kalou, who toe-poked towards goal only for Hennessey's outstretched leg to deny him. Wolves remained relatively comfortable as their battling defence only had to deal with a wild John Terry volley flying over the bar and a couple of dangerous crosses from Malouda. Chelsea began the second half in more determined fashion and soon after Malouda directed a weak shot at Hennessey, they wasted a glorious chance to get on the scoresheet. It was Lampard, looking fresh from a three-month lay-off, who opened up the increasingly edgy defence with a delicate back-heel through to Kalou but the Ivorian could only slot the ball wide with the goal at his mercy. Drogba, so often a match-winner for the Blues, looked a forlorn figure but came the closest to turning the match around, hitting the post after taking advantage of a rare slip in concentration from his opponents. While McCarthy prowled the touchline barking orders, his opposite number watched on motionless and expressionless and, with 25 minutes to go, decided to throw on Nicolas Anelka for Kalou. The chances did eventually arrive for the visitors, with Malouda wasteful when clean through and then substitute Daniel Sturridge volleyed high and wide to add to their manager's frustrations. But with Richard Stearman guiding his resolute defence, it was the home side who came through as Drogba ended the game by wasting a good chance from a free-kick on the edge of the box. Manchester City, Liverpool, Bolton and Manchester United come next for Wolves in the Premier League but McCarthy's men will fear no one after beating Chelsea for the first time in 18 years, while Ancelotti has much to ponder as his players continue to splutter. Source: BBC

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