Chelsea will now be led by Liam Rosenior following his hiring as new permanent manager, however he was not in the dugout to lead the Blues against Fulham.
Rosenior didn’t have time to work with the players before the West London derby, and therefore Calum McFarlane took the reins again after what was seen as a successful outing against Manchester City.
Very little blame can be left at his door for this one. Marc Cucurella’s first half red card was costly for Chelsea, who went on to lose 2-1.
Marc Cucurella’s red card vs Fulham was Chelsea’s fifth in the Premier League this season! 🔴
How does Liam Rosenior solve Chelsea's disciplinary problem?
Chelsea players to have been sent off:
Marc Cucurella
Moises Caicedo
Malo Gusto
Trevoh Chalobah
Robert Sanchez
Referee Peter Bankes shows a red card
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
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Despite being a man down, Chelsea had drawn level again following Liam Delap’s first league goal for the club, and were showing signs in the second half that they looked like scoring again.
Fulham v Chelsea - Premier League
Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images
Calum McFarlane made mistake in taking off Cole Palmer vs Fulham
Just three minutes after drawing level, McFarlane looked to his bench, however instead of utilising all the attacking players on his bench, he took the opportunity to withdraw Cole Palmer from proceedings, replacing him with Joao Pedro.
It is very clear the England international is still getting back to his best after a lengthy injury layoff, and for much of the game at Craven Cottage he had not been at that level.
However, he was starting to have a real impact on proceedings in the lead up to the goal. He had just gone on a mazy run and forced a save out of Bernd Leno moments prior.
With the likes of Estevao Willian on the bench, the Blues desperately needed creativity to come from Palmer, and his exit from the game gave them little hope of another comeback when Harry Wilson gave Fulham the lead again.
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McFarlane should have replaced Pedro Neto instead of Cole Palmer
It was another difficult evening for Pedro Neto, who is now seven games without a goal despite playing all 90 minutes in six of them.
Rosenior should be seriously considering dropping Neto when he officially takes over matches. He should have come off on Wednesday night.
Estevao is waiting in the wings for more regular minutes, with many believing Enzo Maresca was holding him back during his time in charge.
The incoming manager cannot fall into that trap, and should be looking to the Brazil international as one of the key players he has available in this Chelsea side.
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