After being constantly booed by the home crowd for a disparaging social media post about Wolverhampton, Noni Madueke responded with a second-half hat trick to give Chelsea its first Premier League win under manager Enzo Maresca.
Madueke netted three goals in a 14-minute span — all of them assisted by Cole Palmer — to spark a 6-2 win over Wolves on Sunday that at times had the same kind of chaotic feel that envelops most things at Chelsea these days.
But the emphatic second-half performance also indicated that Maresca may already be figuring out how to use the wealth of attacking talent at his disposal — and overshadowed a more routine 2-0 win for Liverpool against Brentford in new manager Arne Slot’s first game at Anfield.
Madueke’s hat trick capped a day where he had already drawn headlines for an Instagram post that used an expletive to describe “everything about this place” after Chelsea arrived in Wolverhampton. While he later deleted the post, Wolves fans let him know they didn’t appreciate the sentiment and booed him every time they got the chance.
Turns out that may have been a bad idea.
After Chelsea gave up the lead twice in an eventful first half that was highlighted by Palmer’s improvised long-range lob for his team’s second goal, Madueke made sure there was no way back for Wolves in the second.
His goals all had a similar feel to them, with Palmer picking him out on the right side of the area and Madueke beating goalkeeper Jose Sa with a shot from an angle — the first taking a deflection before sailing inside the far post.
New signing Joao Felix then sealed the rout after sidefooting home a cross from fellow substitute Pedro Neto, the winger who joined from Wolves this month.
Madueke was apologetic to Wolverhampton residents after the game, and his opinion about the West Midlands city seemed to have improved after the hat trick.
“Obviously it was a mistake, and I’m sure that Wolverhampton is a great town,” Madueke said, adding that he won’t be posting on Instagram again any time soon.
“I’ll be giving my social media accounts to my manager, I think,” he said. “I think I’m just going to leave the social media.”
Shades of Klopp in Slot’s Anfield debut
Slot has clearly brought his own style of play to Anfield, but there were still shades of Jurgen Klopp in the way Liverpool secured the win in the Dutchman’s home debut as manager.
Liverpool’s goals came from a lightning counterattack and a clinical finish from Mohamed Salah — two of the things that fans at Anfield became very used to seeing under Klopp.
“I think Liverpool fans saw these performances under Jurgen Klopp many, many, many times,” Slot said. “I want to see everybody sprinting back and doing everything they can to avoid conceding a goal and that’s what we did very well today.”
There are some clear differences, though.
Just like Slot doesn’t have the German manager’s energetic mannerisms on the touchline — and there were no post-game fist pumps toward the Kop, only applause and a wave — his team also shows more composure in possession rather than the all-out blitz often deployed under his predecessor. According to stats provider Opta, Liverpool completed 92% of its passes against Brentford — its highest percentage in the Premier League since at least 2003-04.
“If I am honest, I think most players are quite used to what we want, but that has a lot to do with us not doing much different to what Jurgen has done,” Slot said. “There are details maybe a bit different but it also has to do with the opponents you face.”
Luis Diaz gave Liverpool the lead by finishing off a quick counter that Salah started after a Bournemouth corner in the 13th minute, with Diogo Jota delivering the assist. Salah then added the second by dinking the ball past goalkeeper Mark Flekken after being played through on goal in the 70th.
That’s two goals in two games for Salah, who also netted in an opening 2-0 win at Ipswich.
A tougher test will come next weekend, though, when Liverpool visits archrival Manchester United.
VAR denies Bournemouth
Bournemouth was denied a late winner by a disputed VAR decision and had to settle for a 1-1 draw at home against Newcastle.
Dango Ouattara thought he had secured the win for Bournemouth with a header in injury time, but it was disallowed for handball even though the ball hit the upper part of the arm.
Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola was left “very frustrated” by the decision.
“It was so obvious. I think everyone who watches the game would agree,” Iraola told the BBC. “I have just seen the video and the fact is it doesn’t touch the arm, it is the shoulder, a clear goal and three points for us.”
Bournemouth had taken the lead through Marcus Tavernier in the 37th, but Anthony Gordon equalized for Newcastle in the 76th.
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