Cole Palmer produced a stunning first-half hat-trick as Chelsea swept aside Wolverhampton Wanderers with a convincing 3-1 victory at Molineux, continuing their impressive form under Liam Rosenior, who became just the second English manager to win his first four Premier League matches.

The atmosphere around Molineux was subdued following consecutive 2-0 defeats, which had ended Wolves’ promising five-game unbeaten run in all competitions. Any lingering optimism was quickly extinguished by Chelsea’s ruthless start.

Inside the opening 15 minutes, João Pedro was clumsily brought down in the penalty area by Matt Doherty, giving Palmer the opportunity to open the scoring. The midfielder made no mistake, calmly sending José Sá the wrong way from the spot.

It marked the 20th time Wolves had conceded the opening goal this season, and they were fortunate not to fall further behind soon after. Sá reacted sharply to deny Enzo Fernández’s audacious rabona attempt before also keeping out Malo Gusto’s close-range effort.

Wolves’ defensive frailties were exposed again midway through the half when Yerson Mosquera unnecessarily shoved João Pedro inside the box, conceding a second penalty. Palmer stepped up once more, dispatching his effort low into the opposite corner to double Chelsea’s lead and mark his 100th competitive appearance for the club with his 50th goal.

Barely three minutes later, Palmer completed his hat-trick, sweeping home Marc Cucurella’s cutback to put the contest beyond doubt before half-time.

Despite failing to score in the second half of their previous 10 home league matches, Wolves showed renewed intent after the interval. Mateus Mané struck the post with an inventive effort, offering brief hope to the home supporters.

That optimism grew moments later when debutant Adam Armstrong flicked on a corner for Tolu Arokodare, who showed composure inside the six-yard box to turn and fire home, reducing the deficit.

Although a comeback always seemed unlikely, Wolves were more competitive in the second half and succeeded in limiting Chelsea’s attacking threat.

The match drifted towards a predictable conclusion, with former Wolves favourite Pedro Neto going closest for the visitors late on, miscuing a diving header into the side netting.

The victory keeps Chelsea firmly in the hunt for Champions League qualification, sitting fifth in the table and just one point behind Manchester United in the race for the final automatic spot.

For Wolves, however, the defeat marked their 19th league loss of the season, leaving them stranded on single-digit points and still three short of matching Derby County’s unwanted Premier League low of 11.