A goal in the opening moments of the second half by Mario Lemina and a second in stoppage time from Matt Doherty were enough to earn Wolverhampton Wanderers a 2-1 victory over Chelsea at Molineux this afternoon.
Christopher Nkunku had a bitter-sweet league debut for the Blues, scoring late in added time to set up a grand stand finish, but the visitors were unable to find the equaliser they desperately needed.
The Premier League's first Christmas Eve fixture since 1995 saw Chelsea lining up in a changed 4-4-2 system, with Armando Broja and Nicolas Jackson spearheading the attack.
Gary O'Neil opted for a 3-4-3 setup with Matheus Cunha leading the line, along with Hwang Hee-chan and Pablo Sarabia in support.
The match got off to a lively start, with both teams seeing plenty of the ball, but the visitors began to boss the game leading up to the midway point of the first half.
Raheem Sterling was deployed down the left flank by Mauricio Pochettino and looked like the most dangerous player on the pitch in the early stages, getting the better of Nelson Semedo on several occasions.
After creating a few half chances, the Blues were handed a golden opportunity to open the scoring when Sterling pickpocketed Joao Gomes and was one-on-one with Jose Sa but the Wolves keeper came out well to close the side-footed attempt.
That marked Chelsea's 36th clear-cut chance missed this season, which is more than any other side in the top flight.
Following that chance, though, Wolves suddenly sparked back into life and carved out a couple of decent chances for Sarabia and Hwang before the half-time whistle, but neither were able to convert, and the sides headed down the tunnel level at the break.
The second period saw the hosts come flying out the blocks and almost taking the lead inside five minutes of the restart when Gomes played a delightful ball into the opposing box, which Toti got on the end of but his header was saved on the line by a diving Djordje Petrovic.
However, Wolves did not have to wait long for another opening as two minutes later, Sarabia picked out Lemina from a corner and the Gabonese international headed home at the far post.
That marked Lemina's third goal of the current campaign, his best return in a season in the Premier League.
Chelsea were being outplayed leading up to the hour mark, and Pochettino responded by bringing on Nkunku for his long-awaited Premier League debut.
And the Frenchman almost made the dream start as he got on the end of a cross from Cole Palmer and stabbed a shot at goal, which beat Sa, but Toti got back on the line to deny the Chelsea striker his first league goal within minutes of coming on.
Nkunku brought a much-needed boost of intensity to the top end of the pitch for Chelsea and was involved a few minutes later, this time feeding Palmer, who set up Sterling, but the winger's shot was blocked well by Craig Dawson.
It was one-way traffic as we headed into the final 10 minutes, with Chelsea keeping Wolves penned in their own half but the hosts were holding on with everyone but Hwang behind the ball.
With players committed to attack heading into 11 minutes of stoppage time, Chelsea were caught out at the back late on and a failed clearance fell to Doherty, who finished calmly in the bottom corner for his first goal for Wolves.
Nkunku marked his debut with a goal moments later to keep the match interesting in the final knockings but Wolves clung on and saw out the match, bringing some festive joy to Molineaux.
Wolves will travel to face Brentford next Wednesday while Chelsea will return to Stamford Bridge to host Crystal Palace.
Devesh Jaganath
