Chelsea’s caretaker manager Frank Lampard was not impressed after the team were defeated by Premier League strugglers Wolverhampton on Saturday.
Chelsea proved that they have plenty more problems to overcome since sacking coach Graham Potter as they went down 1-0 to Wolves on Saturday.
There was no new manager bounce in interim coach Frank Lampard’s first game as the Blues were woeful and unable to threaten their hosts.
Lampard, who was sacked by the club in January 2021, returned to the Blues dugout where he will remain for the rest of the season, but was unable to solve their attacking problems at Molineux.
Nunes lit up what had been a low-quality first half with a sensational strike from inside the box which found the top corner for his first Premier League goal since joining for a club-record deal of £42.2m.
Chelsea rarely looked like scoring and have now not found the net in their last three league games as their season continues to fall apart. They sit 11th, 17 points off the top four with four wins in their last 21 matches.
Kai Havertz disappointed up front once again alongside Raheem Sterling and Joao Felix, while the likes of Enzo Fernandez, Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana put in decent performances to prevent things from getting worse.
The opening exchanges of a poor first half were dominated by a flurry of corners – 12 within the first 25 minutes – but there was still little goalmouth action.
Nunes’ superb first-time volley, running onto a loose ball after Kalidou Koulibaly had flicked a cross away with his head came as a deserved opener for Wolves, who had looked more likely to score.
Chelsea’s deficiencies in front of goal were laid bare, Joao Felix having their only shot on target during the match which was comfortable for Jose Sa – and it was their former striker Diego Costa who went closest, forcing a good save from Kepa Arrizabalaga to keep the visitors in touch.
Chelsea wanted a penalty when Felix’s volley struck Nunes in the box before James bent a free-kick way over to add to their frustration.
Lampard turned to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the final 20 minutes and the striker directed a header wide under pressure from Nelson Semedo.
However, Wolves saw the game out with relative ease to give themselves a cushion to the bottom three and pile the misery on Chelsea, who are now winless in their last four.
Lampard said after the final whistle: “In terms of the performance, in the first-half I thought we were slightly off the pace. You could feel Wolves were aggressive, fighting for their Premier League status.
“I felt they had a little bit more aggression in their game. That’s something I said to the players at half-time. I think we corrected that slightly in the early parts of the second-half, but at that point, you’re 1-0 down.”
While speaking to Match of the Day, Lampard then touched on the short period of time that he and his staff had to prepare with the players for this weekend’s fixture – but also stressed that the ongoing turmoil at Stamford Bridge could not be used as an excuse for such a performance.
He added: “We have been working here for one or two days and it’s about getting an understanding of that and the mindset of the team.
“There has been a lot of change and that’s not an excuse but things need to improve and I think that performance summed it up. I have to get an understanding of it. When I say mindset, it’s not necessarily a negative. You have to get used to winning and make it a habit. Credit to Wolves today, they were physical and stuck in for a win.
“We will work and recreate. We will get into those positions and repeat it. Maybe there’s a feeling you won’t score. I’ve been there before and as a club we need to address it.
“It’s not where the club wants to be but it’s the reality and we have to work through it. You have to get to a point where you can move forward. We need to lift it more than we did today.”
