It would be easy to paint this as a Cole Palmer masterclass, the Chelsea midfielder completing his hat-trick inside the opening 38 minutes, but it is fair to say by the time he was substituted on the hour, his work was done. At that point it was 3-1 to the visitors, Wolves pulling a goal back early in the second half when Tolu Arokodare spun in the box to convert at a corner.
From there, if not earlier, it was hard not to feel as though Chelsea were going through the motions. Palmer’s trio of cool finishes, two from the penalty spot, earned victory and his third, capping a slick team move, was surely the most pleasing for Liam Rosenior. Rosenior’s record as Chelsea head coach now reads seven wins in nine matches and four successive victories in the Premier League.
With fourth-placed Manchester United finding their groove under Michael Carrick and registering a fourth straight league win themselves, Chelsea, a point and a place behind them, knew the importance of keeping pace. Wolves must be sick of the sight of Chelsea, even if there was a slightly different look to the side that won the reverse fixture 3-0 at Stamford Bridge in November.
Palmer, of course, was the obvious absentee there and it was the same story when a youthful Chelsea side won here 4-3 in the Carabao Cup. Wolves have now lost their past four matches to Chelsea by an aggregate scoreline of 15-4 and that is without mentioning their 6-2 defeat at the start of last season.
