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Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Chelsea ran out 3-2 winners against Fulham this evening in the West London derby at Craven Cottage, thanks to goals from João Pedro, Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer.
Chelsea ran out 3-2 winners against Fulham this evening in the West London derby at Craven Cottage, thanks to goals from João Pedro, Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer.
Pedro gave Chelsea the lead after just 30 seconds, drifting in behind before lifting the ball over the keeper to open the scoring and continue his fine pre-season form. However, Josh King was on hand to level the score after 23 minutes, when his powerful strike flew past Robert Sánchez.
Rogers got off to the dream start in a Chelsea shirt when he regained their lead before half-time by sweeping the ball into a virtually empty net. Palmer added the third early in the second half, when Pedro found his overlapping run before the Englishman slotted the ball into the bottom corner.
Gonzalo García got Fulham back into the game when he headed home from close range to get himself off the mark in a Fulham shirt.
As it happened
There were three notable absentees from Xabi Alonso’s first competitive XI as Chelsea manager, with Enzo Fernández benched amidst transfer speculation, whilst Moisés Caicedo and summer signing Marco Palestra were not named in the squad.
Fulham’s front four consisted of two fresh faces, with César Palacios and García making their debuts for the Cottagers. Meanwhile, Joachim Andersen missed out through suspension following his red card against Bournemouth towards the end of last season.
It took just 30 seconds for Chelsea to take the lead when Pedro latched onto Palmer’s ball in behind before dinking the ball over Bernd Leno. Oscar Bobb looked to break free and create a chance to equalise for the hosts, but he was brought down by Levi Colwill, who was subsequently shown the first yellow card of the night. Roméo Lavia followed him into the book shortly after, for a late tackle on Calvin Bassey.
A dicey start to the game for Sánchez continued in the 13th minute, when a miskick saw him let the ball roll out for a Fulham corner. There will be questions asked of the Spaniard over the hosts’ equaliser; he seemed to get his positioning wrong for King’s low and powerful strike.
Momentum had swung in favour of the Cottagers following the goal, with Josh Acheampong forced into a superb block to ensure they didn’t grab a quick-fire second goal through García. Moments later, Palmer and Pedro combined again, with the latter firing narrowly wide with an acrobatic effort from inside the area.
Leno made his first save of the night shortly after, when the ball fell to Reece James just inside the area, whose left-footed volley was denied by the German. He also pulled off a superb stop just moments later to keep Lavia out from close range.
Rogers and Maxence Lacroix marked their Chelsea debuts by combining for the third goal of the game, to regain Chelsea’s lead. A marauding run from the centre-half saw him cut the ball back to Rogers, who swept home into a virtually empty net from 10 yards, meaning they headed in at the break with a 2-1 lead.
Chelsea started the second half in a similar vein to the first, adding a third goal to their tally when Palmer slotted into the bottom corner after being played in by Pedro. Fulham fired back quickly, however, through García, who headed home from just a few yards out after Sánchez spilt Timothy Castagne’s strike.
Fernández was introduced from the bench by Alonso in the 64th minute, replacing Lavia to a chorus of boo’s from the Fulham fans following his World Cup exploits, which helped knock England out in the semi-final. Pep Chavarría was also introduced, replacing Jorrel Hato. Meanwhile, Shea Charles made his Fulham debut as he replaced Oscar Bobb.
James was shown the third Chelsea yellow card of the night in the 75th minute, after fouling King in the middle of the park as Fulham looked to break. Another Chelsea change followed, which saw Malo Gusto replaced by Pedro Neto. Bassey was added to John Brooks’ notebook for simulation moments later, after seeing a penalty claim waved away.
Antonee Robinson was played clean through on goal shortly after and looked certain to equalise, but he was unable to find the target. The American was withdrawn following this squandered chance, with Rodrigo Muniz his replacement.
The Blues’ final changes followed, with Geovany Quenda and Estěvão taking the place of Palmer and Rogers, who were nothing short of magnificent this evening. Castagne received the fifth yellow card of the night as the game began to draw to a close, after he fouled Colwill.
As four minutes of additional time were announced, Pedro had the ball in the net for a fourth Chelsea goal; however, Quenda was ruled offside in the build-up, meaning it ended 3-2 to Chelsea at Craven Cottage.