PLAYER RATINGS: Cunha and Neto star, Sterling booed off the pitch

As Chelsea hosted Wolves in the capital on Sunday, the mid-table battle opened in the Blues' favour.

After Cole Palmer slotted home Moises Caicedo's well-timed pass, it seemed as thought the afternoon may turn in Mauricio Pochettino's favour.

However, two minutes later when Matheus Cunha found the back of the net, Wolves sunk the Blues' hopes of moving above them in the table.

Cunha secured a hat-trick, as well as an own-goal from Axel Disasi which allowed Gary O'Neil's dominant underdogs to shine at Stamford Bridge.

Mail Sport's Kieran Gill was at Stamford Bridge to rate players' performances.

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CHELSEA

Djordje Petrovic - 5

Needed to deny Neto and Cunha early on as his team-mates in front of him displayed a distinct lack of care on the ball. Deflection killed Petrovic for Wolves’s first two goal

Malo Gusto - 4

Gusto was one of those whose carelessness on the ball made Chelsea look so casual here as his wild attempt at tackling Cunha late in the game gifted Wolves the penalty for their fourth.

Thiago Silva - 5

Crushing for the 39-year-old to see Cunha’s shot trickle over the line after his deflection in Wolves’ first goal. Showed his age at times, like when struggling to keep up with Neto, but headed in a late consolation to make it 4-2.

Axel Disasi - 5

Like Silva with Wolves' first goal, Disasi was left deflated as his deflection helped the visitors score their second. Even worse for the 25-year-old, his went down as an own goal.

Ben Chilwell - 5

Captaining Chelsea in the absence of Reece James, Chilwell struggled as Neto destroyed anyone who stood in his way, including the left back. One of several underperformers at Stamford Bridge.

Moises Caicedo - 4.5

Caicedo’s pass for Palmer to score was inch-perfect – exactly the impact a £115million midfielder should have – but he lost possession for Wolves to equalise before giving away foul after foul.

Enzo Fernandez - 5

Gave an earful to Chilwell when he passed backwards instead of forwards, but where was the cover for the left back when Wolves scored their second goal? Not good enough from Fernandez overall.

Cole Palmer - 6

Used as a false nine in that 4-1 loss at Liverpool, Palmer was back on the right-hand side here and he showed his usual calmness in scoring Chelsea’s opener. Sadly, the hosts' optimism soon disappeared.

Conor Gallagher - 5

Ran, and ran, and ran as usual, but could not catch up to Cunha to stop him from scoring Wolves’ third goal. Had a glorious chance to score in stoppage time but showed no composure in the finish.

Raheem Sterling - 4

Often looked like he was out of ideas when he had the ball at his feet on the left-hand side, and completely botched his big chance to equalise in the second half before being substituted.

Christopher Nkunku - 5

Came close inside four minutes but could not quite contort his body to find the finish under pressure from Dawson. Struggled to have an impact in what was only his second start for Chelsea.

Chelsea Substitutes:

Nicolas Jackson (63mins for Caicedo) - 6

Mykhailo Mudryk (72mins for Sterling) - 6

Carney Chukwuemeka (72mins for Nkunku) - 6

Alfie Gilchrist (81mins for Gusto)

Benoit Badiashile (81mins for Chilwell)

Manager: Mauricio Pochettino - 4.5

‘Sacked in the morning’ went the chant from Wolves’ fans. Pochettino needs Chelsea's form to pick up – fast – but they will not get Premier League wins by performing as poorly as this.

WOLVES

Jose Sa - 6

Powerless to stop Palmer from sending the ball into the corner – Chelsea’s star boy is ice cold in those situations – and annoyed at being beaten by Silva's header late on.

Maximilian Kilman - 6

Wolves captain knew to expect a bombardment in the second half as Chelsea chased a way back into the game but in truth, the visiting back line rarely looked flustered, aside from conceding a late set-piece.

Craig Dawson - 6

Wasted no time in roughing up Nkunku, sending him into the advertising boards. Ouch. Manned the back three with ease, including dealing with the added challenge of second-half substitute Nicolas Jackson.

Toti - 6

Not easy going up against a player in form like Palmer but was helped by Ait-Nouri’s willingness to help him out defensively when Chelsea were in possession.

Nelson Semedo - 7

Dropped to form a back five whenever Chelsea were in possession but as soon as Wolves won the ball, they flew forward like the red arrows, led by Neto.

Mario Lemina 7

Put in a defensive shift as Wolves looked to protect their lead in the second half and up against a midfield of Caicedo and Fernandez, he was hardly ever troubled.

Joao Gomes 7.5

Teamed up with Neto to dispossession Caicedo in the centre of the pitch before Wolves got their first goal. Tenacious throughout alongside Lemina.

Rayan Ait-Nouri - 7.5

Broke into the box to get on the end of Neto’s pass as Wolves scored their second, though unfortunately for him, it went down as a Disasi own goal.

Pablo Sarabia - 7

Wolves’ high press was posing Chelsea all kinds of problems in the first half and Sarabia ran himself into the ground before being substituted once the game was won.

Matheus Cunha - 9

It was a huge deflection which saw his shot trickle over the line. Not that he will care. It got him on his way to this hat-trick, sealing it after winning a penalty which he then converted himself. Dominant throughout.

Pedro Neto - 8.5

Set up Wolves’ second goal after making a clever run into the wide-open space behind Chilwell and was an overall menace to Chelsea’s defence from start to finish.

Wolves Substitutes:

Nicolas Jackson (63mins for Caicedo) - 6

Mykhailo Mudryk (72mins for Sterling) - 6

Tommy Doyle (72mins) - 6

Jean-Ricner Bellegarde (72mins) - 6

Hugo Bueno (87mins)

Matt Doherty (90mins)

Manager: Gary O’Neil - 8

Wolves may have fallen a goal behind, but they deserved this win over the 90 minutes. What a job O’Neil is doing at this club.

Referee: Tim Robinson - 6