WOLVERHAMPTON // For as long as both are still at Stamford Bridge - and with both of their futures the subject of speculation, it is a moot point how long that will be - the relationship of Andre Villas-Boas and Frank Lampard will be the subject of scrutiny.
But while theirs is an uneasy union, it can still be a productive one.
It was Lampard who delivered the 89th-minute decider, just as he had scored the winner against Manchester City last month.
Four matches separated those victories, and Chelsea won none of them, curtailing their title challenge and increasing the focus on young manager and ageing players alike.
When the run was ended, it was both dramatic and controversial. Wolves, who are establishing a reputation for comebacks, had only levelled five minutes earlier, seeming to procure a deserved point. But then Lampard exchanged passes with Ashley Cole and arrived in the six-yard box to convert the left-back's cross, a goal reminiscent of many of its 178 predecessors in Chelsea blue.
Both were already the bete noires of the Wolves public. Cole, who seemed to double up as agent provocateur, had escaped sanction for chopping down the debutant Emmanuel Frimpong while Lampard was fortunate his first-half lunge at Adam Hammill only brought a yellow card. "There was no malice and I honestly mean that but I was late and I might have been a bit lucky to stay on the pitch," he accepted.
"The challenge might have been over the top but I think Peter [Walton, the referee] considered that Frank is not that type of player," said Villas-Boas. "I would congratulate his decision and his criteria-making during the game."
Describing reports of unrest among the senior players as "untrue" and the result as "fair", he cut a defiant figure. Chelsea's ambitions have been downgraded, but their secondary target could yet be achieved. The result, if not the performance, suggests their target of a top-four finish and Champions League football is feasible. With the notable exception of the rampaging Ramires, who had scored the opening goal, and the inventive Juan Mata, theirs was an undistinguished display. Yet after concluding December in such disappointing fashion, winning seemed a show of spirit.
It was intended to bring a picture of unity, too. When Ramires struck, spinning away from Stephen Ward to lash a shot into the roof of the net after John Terry had flicked on Juan Mata's corner, he headed to the beleaguered Villas-Boas to celebrate. So, too, did Cole, Jose Bosingwa, Raul Meireles, Oriol Romeu and David Luiz, Terry following suit in an attempt to provide an image of a happy camp.
It was, Villas-Boas insisted, neither instigated by him or for his benefit. "It's just part of their showing unity for the team," he said. And yet Lampard was a belated addition to the group on the touchline, while the manager refused an invitation to praise his match-winner. "I think the team did magnificently well, no matter who scores," he added.
Fernando Torres famously does not. Even as his Chelsea record reached five goals in 39 games, however, there was an incisiveness to his distribution.
One diagonal ball released Mata, who defeated Wayne Hennessey but directed his shot wide; a shorter pass supplied Lampard who, when challenged, was unable to apply power to his effort.
Yet he was not hired for his creative capabilities. Goals continue to elude a once supreme scorer, and there was a sense of desperation when he attempted the improbable from the centre circle.
He did not find the net, but he almost hit the corner flag.
Wolves, meanwhile, highlighted Chelsea's problems defending set-pieces. Adam Hammill's free kicks led to Roger Johnson hitting the post and Ward heading narrowly wide.
The crossed ball brought them level, too, aided by Mick McCarthy's influential substitutions. Two of the arrivals, Matt Jarvis and Steven Fletcher, combined with the Scot centring for Ward to defeat Petr Cech with a crisp half-volley. Even after Lampard struck, they might still have emerged with a draw, Cech denying Kevin Doyle in injury time. Not that their indefatigable approach impressed McCarthy, who attributed defeat to poor defending rather than lenient officiating.
"It's irrelevant [that Lampard was not sent off] if defend a bleeding cross," the Wolves manager said. "I'm livid. It was professional suicide. We got back to 1-1 and you should have seen a happy Mick McCarthy, if there is such a thing." Instead, Andre Villas-Boas was seen, if not happy, then interpreting victory as vindication.
