Maresca highlights the importance of scoring that second goal

Today at 12:24 AM

Post-match thoughts from the boss

After five without a win in the league, Chelsea finally got a nice, solid W on Monday night, beating Wolverhampton Wanderers, 3-1. Wolves may be battling relegation, but we've made hard work of teams in the nether regions of the table during this winless streak, so these were welcome, necessary, uplifting three points.

Asked what the difference was in this game versus the previous five, Enzo Maresca highlighted the fact that we managed to get that all-important second goal at long last. We didn't do so in the first half, allowing the visitors to come back. We didn't do it against Bournemouth; we didn't do it against Fulham; we didn't do it against Crystal Palace: seven points dropped from winning positions in the last month.

But at last, after going back up 2-1, we made it 3-1 to establish a two-goal cushion. Two-goal leads are not the most dangerous leads; one-goal leads are — especially for this team!

"I think in the five games that we did not win the performance was there. I said already many times that the problem has been inside the box where we could be a bit more clinical.

"Tonight was important to win the game. The first half, 40 minutes, the team was brilliant. Score goal, create chances, then it happened again, the same thing that already happened in the last four or five games. When we concede we lost a little bit of confidence. [...] Again we score first and then they draw.

"[But] I think the reaction was much, much better [and] then, second half, again we control the game, we score twice, we could score more."

-Enzo Maresca; source: Football.London

How do you win? Your score more.

This was our 11th Premier League win of the season. In seven of those, we have scored three or more goals. The other four we won by one-goal margins, though only one to the tune of 1-0. For us, defense is definitely not the best offense. We have to score and we have to score frequently — so it was good to see others beyond just Cole Palmer chipping in.

This win didn't exactly mollify concerns about our play in general, but things are always nicer when you're winning.

Next up: a massive, season-defining match at the Etihad against a resurgent Manchester City.