Alejandro Garnacho starred for Chelsea, setting up two goals, to help Enzo Maresca’s team to an emphatic 3-0 win over managerless Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Wolves – who sacked Vitor Pereira after last weekend’s defeat to Fulham – held firm in the first half, but Chelsea rallied after the break to ensure they moved, at least temporarily, second in the table.

Malo Gusto headed in his first senior career goal from Garnacho’s delivery, before Joao Pedro marked his 100th Premier League appearance with a first-time finish.

And Garnacho set up former Wolves star Pedro Neto for their third goal, with the visitors’ defence carved open as their wait for a first league win of the season continued.

Chelsea are now six points behind leaders Arsenal, ahead of the rest of the weekend’s action, while Wolves are rooted to the foot of the table with two points.

How the match unfolded

Sam Johnstone was put to work early on, tipping Enzo Fernandez’s left-wing free-kick away from the top corner and smothering Garnacho’s half-volley inside four minutes.

Chelsea kept the pressure on, with Fernandez again forcing Johnstone into a stretching save, while Joao Pedro dragged wide from the edge of the box.

A compact Wolves frustrated Chelsea in the first half, but the hosts got their breakthrough six minutes after the break; Garnacho checked back to lose Jackson Tchatchoua on the left before floating a cross to the back post, where Gusto peeled away to head in.

In the 65th minute, substitute Estevao raced down the right, and his low cross was deflected to Joao Pedro, who lifted a wonderful first-time strike over Johnstone into the back of the net.

As Wolves attempted to push forward to cut the deficit, Chelsea hit them on the counter-attack 73 minutes in, with Garnacho teeing up Neto for an emphatic tap-in before Marc Guiu struck a post late on.

Chelsea go big at home

Chelsea endured a long – and largely frustrating – trip to Azerbaijan in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, but returned to Premier League action showing no signs of tiredness.

And they had been recently acquainted with Wolves, playing out a chaotic 4-3 victory over them at Molineux last month in the EFL Cup, with Jamie Gittens the hero on that occasion.

Like in that match, Chelsea attempted to make a fast start, with Fernandez and Garnacho proving thorns in Wolves’ side as they put the pressure on, but they were limited to half-chances.

The second half followed much the same pattern, but even after Gusto’s finely-taken header, Maresca may not have been sitting comfortably as his side gave up a 3-0 lead in that EFL Cup tie.

This time, the Blues held onto their control, with Fernandez continuing to cause problems as he almost forced Ladislav Krejci into an own goal with a tempting cross before Joao Pedro doubled the lead.

And Garnacho had the beating of Tchatchoua down the left, which led to his second assist, this time for Neto, who gave Johnstone no chance from close range.

With back-to-back wins heading into the international break, Chelsea will travel to Burnley for their next game in two weeks.

Wolves stutter in timid second half

Pereira’s tenure at Wolves came to an end last Sunday, nearly 11 months after he took the job, and the club has been making strides to ensure the dugout will not be empty for long.

On Saturday, Middlesbrough confirmed they had agreed terms with Wolves over the departure of head coach Rob Edwards, who has been given permission to hold talks with the Midlands club.

But, with James Collins stepping in on an interim basis, it was clear that his main intention at Stamford Bridge was defensive solidity, with Wolves having conceded the second-most goals in the Premier League prior to kick-off.

The visitors barely broke into the final third before the break, opting to drop deep to help their back five against Chelsea’s constant pressure, and the Blues were largely restricted. When they did break through, however, Johnstone was equal to the challenge.

But that was not the case in the second half, with Wolves struggling to deal with Chelsea’s threat down both wings, with Garnacho twice setting up goals with left-sided crosses, while Joao Pedro’s came from Estevao’s low delivery on the right.

Jorgen Strand Larsen lashed a late chance into the stands with Wolves’ best chance, but their top-flight winless streak stretched to 15 games, with Crystal Palace up next on 22 November.