Goli Innocent 
Frank Lampard made a losing return to Chelsea as Wolverhampton Wanderers eased their Premier League relegation worries with a hard-earned victory.
Chelsea legend Lampard was given a rapturous reception from the travelling fans at Molineux following his appointment as interim head coach 27 months after being sacked as the club’s full-time manager.
Yet the club’s all-time record scorer was unable to stop the poor form that led to Graham Potter’s sacking as mid-table Chelsea slumped to an 11th top-flight defeat of the season after failing to score for the third game in a row.
Wolves were on the front foot throughout and deserved their win which came after a sweet finish by Matheus Nunes, the Portugal midfielder’s first goal for the club since joining from Sporting Lisbon last August.
Nunes beat Kepa Arrizabalaga with a fierce attempt from a tight angle after an attempted headed clearance by Kalidou Koulibaly.
Chelsea was disappointing and remained 11th after just two wins in 11 league games, Jo’ao Felix brought out a fine Dave from Jose Sa.
Lampard made it clear he wants to give supporters a team they are proud of after his stop-gap appointment, a move that buys Chelsea’s hierarchy time to get the next permanent appointment right.
Unfortunately, it was the same old story for the Blues as they failed to score for the 12th time in the Premier League this season.
Lampard brought Raheem Sterling and Conor Gallagher back into the starting line-up but, on another frustrating day, both players picked up yellow cards and failed to make an impact.
There was also a rare sighting off the bench of striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, his first action since 26 February, but he could not help the team avoid continuing their dismal run of just one win on the road in the league since 16 October.
Lampard is eager to use this short-term opportunity to repair his reputation after sackings at Chelsea and Everton and land himself a permanent job elsewhere in the Premier League for next season.
If he is to do that, much better will be required going forward – starting with Wednesday’s trip to Real Madrid for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
Lampard was due to be at the Bernabeu as a television pundit but instead now finds himself plotting to bring down the champions of Europe after his surprise appointment.
Julen Lopetegui’s first Premier League match in charge of Wolves was a 2-1 win at Lampard’s Everton on 26 December.
And the former Real Madrid and Spain manager once again got the better of the former England midfielder as Wolves put in a performance to move four points clear of the relegation zone.
Nunes will hug the headlines for his excellent finish, but the Wolves’ second win in eight games was built on solid foundations at the back as they restricted their opponents to just one attempt on target.
They were well organised and could have won by more goals if former Chelsea forward Diego Costa was not denied from making it 2-0 by Kepa.
Wolves have been accused of being too slow getting the ball forward and not testing opposition goalkeepers enough this season.
But this was a much-improved performance and these three points could go a long way to securing another season in the Premier League.
