Chelsea's Madueke Apologizes for Criticism of Wolverhampton After Hat-Trick Performance
Chelsea winger Noni Madueke has issued an apology for his derogatory comments about Wolverhampton, which he posted and then deleted on social media just hours before the team's Premier League match at Molineux. In his original post, Madueke wrote, “this place is shit,” which he later claimed was mistakenly shared from the wrong Instagram account.
Following the controversy, Madueke responded on the field with a hat-trick in Chelsea's 6-2 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers. Despite being booed by Wolves fans, Madueke's performance helped secure the win for Chelsea. He later addressed the incident, stating, “I just want to apologise to everyone that I might have offended. It is just a human mistake, an accident. It wasn't meant to be out on my socials like that. I'm sure Wolverhampton is a nice town and I'm sorry.”
Madueke acknowledged the hostile reception from the crowd but noted that dealing with such pressure is part of the game. His hat-trick was assisted by Cole Palmer, who provided three key passes. Madueke commented on their partnership, saying, “It is unbelievable. He is cold and I am fire so it mixes well. He has the ability to always play a pass at the right time.”
Chelsea's victory marked their first Premier League win under new manager Enzo Maresca. The team had previously been defeated by Manchester City in their league opener and won against Servette in a UEFA Conference League play-off match on Thursday. Madueke had also scored against Servette.
Maresca praised Madueke's contribution but noted a minor issue with his performance. “In the first 10 minutes he had two chances and overall he was very good. The only thing I didn't like from Noni is the free-kick he gave away before half-time and we can avoid that, especially against a team who are good from set-pieces,” Maresca said. He also highlighted areas for improvement, stating, “Absolutely there always things we can improve on. We can learn many things.”
