Chelsea were left to rue missed chances after Wolves fought back from a goal down to stun them and gain their first victory in seven Premier League matches.
Chelsea went ahead when Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s 25-yard effort was headed into his own net by Wolves captain Conor Coady.
Chelsea had chances to extend their lead but Willian had a free-kick tipped over, Antonio Rudiger shot off target and N’Golo Kante fired just wide.
Those misses proved costly as Raul Jimenez’s low strike, following a fine run from 18-year-old midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, made it level.
Wolves scored what proved to be the winner four minutes later as Matt Doherty’s cross was finished at the back post by Diogo Jota for his first Premier League goal.
It is now back-to-back away league defeats for Maurizio Sarri’s side, who are set to drop down to fourth below Tottenham and remain 10 points behind leaders Manchester City, who they play at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Chelsea was looking for a third win in a row in all competitions, and a second win in four days in the league. With just one point separating Chelsea, Spurs, and Arsenal, all vying for the last two Champions League spots, getting all points in this encounter was very crucial to Chelsea but this was not to be.
Tottenham and Liverpool wins accompanied with a Man United – Arsenal draw mean that Chelsea drop to fourth with a superior goal difference to Arsenal who are 5th.
With Manchester City coming up on Saturday, some rotation was expected, and that is precisely what Sarri did, with Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Andreas Christensen, and Cesc Fabregas all getting the starting nod.
For Nuno Espirito Santo’s side it was a much-needed three points after a six-game winless run since their 1-0 away victory at Crystal Palace on 6 October.
Wolves were promoted to the Premier League after winning the Championship last season and picked up 15 points from their opening eight top-flight matches, but had then gained only one point from their next six.
The Portuguese boss admitted his side were “in a bad moment” after losing 2-1 at Cardiff on Friday and looked on course for another defeat when the visitors went ahead after only 18 minutes and had opportunities to extend that lead further.
Wolves had been restricted to two headers off target from Jimenez in the first half, but the Mexican scored his fourth league goal of the season in the 59th minute to start the fightback.
The striker shot low at goal and the ball went under Blues goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga as the hosts scored with their first shot on target.
They also found the net with their second attempt on target four minutes later.