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Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca asked for “immediate” improvement from Noni Madueke, despite the winger scoring in a 3-1 win over Wolves.
Victory at Stamford Bridge ended a five-match winless streak, but Maresca was unhappy with what he perceived to be a drop-off from the England international after he had headed his team’s third goal in the 65th minute.
It was the second time this season that Madueke has been called out publicly over his work rate.
He was dropped from the team for December’s win over Aston Villa, with the boss questioning his attitude in training.
“He can improve in the last third, but probably after he scored the goal he stopped playing. This has to be one thing that we need to improve immediately,” said Maresca, whose team moved back into the top four in the Premier League thanks to a first victory wince December 15.
“Never happy if you score one or two, always you have to go for more. After he scored the goal he stopped playing a little bit and it’s something that we need to improve.
“We just try always to help them to improve. After the goal probably he was a little bit tired, but it’s the moment we need to go for more.”
Chelsea dominated the first half but true to recent form failed to finish off Wolves.
After he scored the goal he stopped playing a little bit and it’s something that we need to improve
Enzo Maresca
Tosin Adarabioyo gave them the lead with his third goal of 2025, a protracted VAR check required to establish the defender had been onside when the ball was smashed goalwards by Reece James.
But Wolves hit back to level via a horrendous error by goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, fumbling the ball hopelessly at a corner and allowing Matt Doherty to poke it home.
At that stage the game looked equally likely to tip in either direction, Chelsea haunted by seven points dropped from winning positions in games against Fulham, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth recently.
Marc Cucurella forced the home side back in front when he chested down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s flick and prodded the ball beyond Jose Sa on the hour mark, then five minutes later Madueke eased any lingering nerves with a third headed in from on the goal line.
“Winning after five games without a win, it’s complicated,” said Maresca. “But I think in the five games we didn’t win, the performance was always there. The problem has been inside the box where we could be a little bit more clinical.
“The first 40 minutes the team was brilliant, we scored and created chances. Then happened the same thing as happened in the last four or five games, when we concede we lost a little bit of confidence. Then second half we controlled the game and scored twice, we could score more.”
Wolves boss Vitor Pereira reflected on a game in which his side failed to build on their good moments.
“The team I want to see playing in the way I want was the team that played the last 15 minutes of the first half, with quality, with confidence, creating problems, moments when we went to press higher.
“It’s normal when a team has doubts about themselves. It’s normal that we have moments with confidence, other moments when we concede a goal and lose our confidence. I as a coach must fix this.”
