Wolves also had a penalty overturned after referee Stuart Attwell initially awarded a late spot-kick for Reece James’ foul on Neto, while Kurt Zouma hit the crossbar for the visitors in the first half.

Fabio Silva again got the nod to deputise for the recovering Raul Jimenez for the hosts and had a goal ruled out for offside.

But it was Neto and Podence who continue to fill the void left by Jimenez – out with a fractured skull – and they have scored 53 per cent of Wolves’ 13 goals this term as they sit two points further back in 10th.

In contrast, nine of Chelsea’s starting line-up had notched in the top flight – although Timo Werner failed to get a telling connection on Christian Pulisic’s cross after 15 minutes.

The visitors dictated the early play but their best chance came from a set-piece when Giroud should have opened the scoring after 20 minutes instead of heading Ben Chilwell’s corner over.

Wolves had been pinned back but they briefly threatened when Silva’s flick allowed Neto to strike from the edge of the box but Edouard Mendy turned the ball behind.

The hosts had grown into the game and were keeping Chelsea from feeding the dangerous Giroud, while Kai Havertz’s impact had been minimal.

Rui Patricio did not have a save to make but he was almost beaten a minute before the break when Zouma’s towering header thumped the crossbar.

The rebound hit Giroud a yard out and dropped wide as Wolves survived but they were breached just four minutes after the restart.

Giroud did not dwell on his miss and was in position to get ahead of Willy Boly and fire in a sharp volley from Chilwell’s cross.

It caught Patricio by surprise and squirmed over the line before the goalkeeper clawed it back, with goal-line technology awarding the opener.

Wolves responded well though and Silva had the ball in the net only to be denied by a correct offside call and fine defending from Thiago Silva denied Boly.

Chelsea had failed to build on the opener and were punished after 66 minutes when Wolves levelled.

Podence always looked the most likely to inspire the hosts and the forward struck when he sold Chilwell and James dummies before his shot clipped James and flew past Mendy at his near post.

It set up a frantic finish and Wolves thought they had a penalty with 10 minutes left after Neto went down under James’ challenge.

There was minimal contact and referee Attwell reversed his own decision after checking the pitchside monitor.

But Wolves continued to pile forward and found a winner in stoppage-time when they broke quickly and Neto teased Zouma before drilling low into the corner.