Wolves v Chelsea player ratings: Podence 7, Sa 8; Pulisic 5, Mount 7

Tuchel's team fall behind in title race following goalless draw after being asked to play despite Covid-19 cases in squad

WOLVES RATINGS: Jose Sa 8 - Sa didn’t hesitate when coming to claim crosses to instill calm in his defensive line. A massive save with the game all square denied Pulisic to keep the game at 0-0. PA

Romain Saiss 8 - Often the man to disrupt Chelsea attacks, with the 31-year-old always in the right place to get rid of the danger. Defensively, that was one of his better displays of this season. AP

Conor Coady 8 - Passed the ball well out of the defence and commanded the backline - making a challenge in the last minute of stoppage time that may have just secured a hard-fought point for Wolves. Getty

Max Kilman 7 - Assured alongside Conor Coady as the pair kept a good shape to prevent Chelsea from playing through the middle areas of the pitch. AP

Marcal 6 - Had some reasonable moments going forward but struggled in some defensive situations with Chelsea looking to go down his flank with Mount and James. EPA

Joao Moutinho 6 - A mixed game for Moutinho who did some good things but could have also been more careful on the ball. Not as involved in the second half. EPA

Ruben Neves 6 - Tidy in possession but we didn’t see enough of that. Neves spent the majority of the game helping out his defence with Chelsea applying maximum pressure by the second half. Getty

Leander Dendoncker 6 - Came close to scoring before the break but that would be his only chance. A positive display defensively. AP

Ki-Jana Hoever 7 - The 19-year-old got forward when the opportunity arose but it was his defensive work that stood out most on Sunday afternoon. EPA

Raul Jimenez 6 - A lack of service against a difficult Chelsea defence made it tough for Jimenez to get into shape for a shot on goal. Despite that, he worked hard before being replaced in the 89th minute. PA

Daniel Podence 7 - Ran the channels well and thought he had given Wolves the lead before VAR intervened. Reuters

SUBS: Adama Traore (Podenc 79') N/A - On for Podence and had some runs in behind but it looked like Chelsea had already devised a game plan for his pace. Getty Trincao (Jimenez 89') N/A - On for Jimenez for the final minutes.

CHELSEA RATINGS: Edouard Mendy 6 - Spent most of the game watching his team dictate possession of the ball. Made one notable stop against Dendoncker. AP

Antonio Rudiger 7 - Showed his pace late on to beat Adama Traore to a ball and never looked threatened by a fairly blunt Wolves attack on the day. PA

Thiago Silva 8 - Helped reset play and quickly switched it out to the flanks. It was clear that the Brazilian saw the game ahead of the Wolves attackers and positioned himself in exemplary fashion to clear the danger. PA

Cesar Azpilicueta 6 - Had some trouble against Marcal early on but Tuchel’s changes in the second half saw that pressure eased with Chelsea overloading the right flank. EPA

Marcos Alonso 7 - The perfect weight of pass played in Pulisic and Alonso should have got an assist for his efforts. Strong runs up the left flank stretched Wolves and kept them honest despite setting up to play deep. AP

N'Golo Kante 7 - Rarely made a wrong decision and was the conductor in the middle of the park. Close to getting the winner late on but was blocked by Conor Coady. PA

Trevoh Chalobah 6 - Unfortunate to be forced off at the break with an injury. EPA

Reece James 6 - Couldn’t seem to find a Chelsea shirt on the day, but he did show some good link-up play with Mason Mount that almost led to promising situations. AFP

Mason Mount 7 - Worked hard and pressed aggressively from the front, winning back possession for Chelsea high up the pitch. Getty

Hakim Ziyech 5 - Struggled to make things happen against a stubborn Wolves defence before being withdrawn with what looked to be an injury problem. Reuters

Christian Pulisic 5 - Chelsea couldn’t be sure whether Pulisic would hold onto the ball when he got it, with the frontman losing it on too many occasions. Should have redeemed himself with his chance but saw his effort saved. EPA

SUBS: Saul Niguez (Chalobah 46') 6 - A solid display but wasn’t asked to do much - the tempo of the game was much in Chelsea’s favour who controlled the entire second half. Reuters

Mateo Kovacic (Ziyech 65') 6 - Some much needed minutes for Kovacic who returned to the squad, coming on for Ziyech in the 65th minute. PA

Chelsea were left frustrated by developments off and on the field as they were held to a goalless draw by Wolves at Molineux on Sunday.

Chelsea, who had only six players on the bench including two goalkeepers after seven Covid-19 infections in their squad, had asked the Premier League to postpone the game. However, their request was turned down and they ended up watching their title ambitions take another hit.

Thomas Tuchel's team have now won just two of their past six league games and fell six points behind leaders City.

The hosts came closest to breaking the deadlock when Daniel Podence had the ball in the back of the net, but the effort was ruled out after striker Raul Jimenez strayed offside in the build-up.

Manager Thomas Tuchel said Chelsea were "angry" at the decision to play.

"I don't care about the point. I am pleased with the performance, especially in the second half. The first half was a bit of a struggle for us, we had to grow into the game," Tuchel told Sky Sports.

"We talk a lot about safety and protecting the players, but I'm not so sure we did this today," the manager added.

"If we have tomorrow and the next test, the next positive, I would like to speak to the Premier League about what they expect."

Player ratings from the match can be seen in the picture gallery above.