Home / Football / Premier League News Wolves 1-3 Chelsea: Palmer hits first-half hat-trick as Blues win again under Rosenior Read our match report from Chelsea's win at Molineux.. Written by Cian Cheesbrough Last Update: February 7, 2026 05:34:16 pm GMT 3 min read Cole Palmer hit a stunning first-half hat-trick as Chelsea won their fourth straight Premier League game under Liam Rosenior with a 3-1 victory over bottom-side Wolves at Molineux. Palmer starred on his return to the Blues starting XI with a treble inside 38 minutes as the visitors ran riot in the first half, with Tolu Arokadare pulled one back in an improved second half for the strugglers but it was not enough to halt a third straight league defeat as relegation edges closer.Chelseas hopes of Champions League qualification are boosted with the victory as they stayed within touching distance of fourth-placed Manchester United, who beat Tottenham earlier in the day.Table of Contents1 Palmer puts woeful Wolves to the sword2 Too little, too late for Wolves in second halfPalmer puts woeful Wolves to the swordIt was a sluggish start by Chelsea who struggled to get much of the ball against the relegation strugglers, albeit the hosts were unable to carve out any chances of note.But after getting the ball in the Wolves box for pretty much the first time, the visitors were awarded a penalty when Matt Doherty tripped Joao Pedro.Up stepped Palmer for the spot-kick and the England man made no mistake in sending the keeper the wrong way and nestling the ball into the bottom corner to put his side in front.The goal rocked Wolves and a spate of chances came the visitors way firstly through Marc Cucurella, then Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez who attempted an audacious rabona finish before an offside was called. Jose Sa then was called into action again to tip over a Malo Gasto shot after being brilliantly played in by Andrey Santos.The hosts only had theirselves to blame when a second penalty was awarded for a needless push by Yerson Mosquera on Pedro. Palmer assumed penalty duties again and slotted in another to make it two for his 50th goal for the Blues in his 100th appearance.And the hat-trick was confirmed after just 38 minutes when Enzo slid in Cucurella, who pulled the ball back for the 23-year-old to smash the ball into the roof of the net.The Blues began to smell blood with chances coming their way left, right and centre, the best coming for former Wolves man Pedro Neto and man-of-the-moment Palmer with a real danger it could turn ugly for the Premier Leagues bottom side.Too little, too late for Wolves in second halfWolves were extremely fortunate not to concede a third penalty of the day after the break when Sa left out a leg and caught Neto when collecting the ball, with VAR controversially deciding the incident wasnt worthy of another spotkick.But the hosts pulled one back when, just after Matheus Mane struck the post, an Adam Armstrong from a corner found the way of Arokodare who swept the ball home.Much of the second half was all Wolves even if chances werent flowing but the introduction of debutant Angel Gomes boosted the visitors, with the England internationals teasing cross finding Mosqeura who was only able to head it over.Neto went agonisingly close to wrapping up the game at his old stomping ground late on but his diving header from Enzos cross just glided past the post with Sa only able to watch it. Topics: Chelsea F.C. Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Follow us: Cian Cheesbrough Cian is a sports journalist with experience writing for national titles, including LiveScore, MailOnline, Eurosport and Sky Sports.
He has covered a number of key events during his time in the industry, including from the press box at live Champions League fixtures. Read more from Cian Cheesbrough
