Noni Madueke hit a hat-trick as Chelsea crushed Wolves 6-2 to give Enzo Maresca his first Premier League win as Blues boss, while Newcastle rescued a controversial 1-1 draw at Bournemouth on Sunday.
Maresca suffered a 2-0 loss against Manchester City last weekend in his first game since arriving from Leicester to replace Mauricio Pochettino in the close-season.
Chelsea got off the mark under Maresca with a UEFA Conference League play-off victory against Servette on Thursday, but that low-key success was only the prelude to their goal spree at Molineux.
Maresca’s side made the perfect start after just 98 seconds when Matheus Cunha could only flick his attempted clearance from a corner towards Nicolas Jackson, who was left unmarked to head in from six yards.
Jackson’s goal infuriated Wolves fans already angry with Chelsea after Madueke posted and then deleted a critical review of Wolverhampton just hours before kick-off.
Madueke shared his location, which was Wolverhampton, in the post, which read “this place is s**t”.
He later shared: “Damn wrong Instagram account. You lot are too fast.”
Cunha hauled the hosts level in the 27th minute as the Brazilian forward tormented the Blues again after last season’s hat-trick at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo carelessly lost possession and Rayan Ait-Nouri drove forward before teeing up Cunha, whose fierce strike flashed past Robert Sanchez and sparked a samba-dancing goal celebration.
Cole Palmer restored Chelsea’s advantage in the 45th minute, the England forward taking Jackson’s flick and lobbing a sublime finish over Wolves keeper Jose Sa.
– Chelsea run riot –
The Blues made a hash of clearing Ait-Nouri’s free-kick seconds before the half-time whistle and Toti headed it across to
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