Liam Rosenior watched his new Chelsea side suffer a disciplinary nightmare as Marc Cucurella saw red against . Rosenior, 41, did not take charge of the Blues at Craven Cottage, instead opting to watch from the stands.
Calum McFarlane impressed with his decision making and selections in the 1-1 away draw against . The Blues started strongly with Enzo Fernandez almost scoring directly from a corner and Andrey Santos deflecting another set-piece from the Argentine onto the crossbar.
However, the disciplinary issues which hampered the World Club Cup winners during Enzo Maresca's reign reared their ugly heads again. Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno spotted Harry Wilson with a 75-yard pass and the in form Welshman got the wrong side of Cucurella.
The Spaniard panicked and ended up dragging Wilson down while he was the last defender. The referee did not hesitate reaching for his red card, leaving the players furious.
Clarifying the decision, the Premier League match centre said: "The referee’s call of free-kick to Fulham and a red card to Cucurella for denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity (DOGSO) was checked and confirmed by VAR - with it deemed that Cucurella committed a holding offence that did not continue into the penalty area."
Enzo Fernandez furiously berated the official, who gave him a yellow card for dissent before Cole Palmer also talked himself into the book. Tosin Adrabioyo was also booked for the same reason.
Unbelievably, it was Chelsea's fifth red card this season. No other team in the division has been given more than two red cards this season. The Blues' lack of discipline is something Rosenior will have to get on top of when he does take charge.
There will be more to follow on this breaking news story and will bring you the very latest updates, pictures and video as soon as possible.
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