Eden Hazard’s late goal rescues Chelsea
Hazard curled into the bottom corner in the second minute of added time to deny Wanderers a memorable victory. Eden Hazard scored a stoppage-time equaliser to rescue a point for Chelsea against Wolves at Stamford Bridge.
Raul Jimenez finished off a swift counter-attacking move to put Wanderers ahead with their only shot on goal nine minutes into the second half. That looked to be enough, particularly when substitute Willian saw his curling effort well saved by Rui Patricio late on, but Hazard struck to salvage a draw with his 16th goal of the season.
Despite only managing two attempts on goal all game, Wolves may feel aggrieved at only securing a point having defended diligently, restricting Chelsea to half-chances and efforts from distance. Chelsea only had one shot on target during the first half, an effort from Gonzalo Higuain from a tight angle that was comfortably pushed behind by Patricio.
Maurizio Sarri’s side improved after going behind, with Pedro having a shot tipped over before Higuain failed to convert when the ball flashed across the box following a corner. It was hard to see Chelsea scoring as the game entered added time but Hazard showed neat skill to turn away from Ruben Neves and finally beat Patricio from 18 yards.
Hazard secures unlikely point
Chelsea were looking to maintain momentum after three successive victories in all competitions following their Carabao Cup final defeat against Manchester City.
After making a number of changes for Thursday’s Europa League last-16 first leg win over Dynamo Kiev, Maurizio Sarri restored many of his key players to the starting line-up, including Hazard and N’Golo Kante.
However, they were subdued for much of the game, particularly during the first half where they managed just one shot on target.
Chelsea enjoyed 75% possession but precious little of it was in dangerous areas, with Wolves content to sit back and look to hit on the counter. Half-hearted penalty claims were turned down when Hazard’s corner hit Jimenez on the arm as he attempted to clear.
Romain Saiss then had to be alert to clear the ball away from Hazard after Willy Boly’s headed clearance inadvertently landed in his path.
Jimenez’s goal after the break jolted Chelsea into action, with Pedro and Higuain going close, but it took a dramatic intervention from top-scorer Hazard to finally breach the Wolves backline.
The point was not enough to move Chelsea back into the top four, had they won they would have moved fourth, two points behind Tottenham and still with a game in hand.
Instead, they remain sixth and that could well mean that the Europa League is their best opportunity to qualify for next season’s Champions League, placing greater emphasis on their second leg in Kiev on Thursday.
Source: BBC News
