Enzo Maresca says a 'brilliant' second-half performance from his side ensured the Blues were deserved 2-0 winners in today's west London derby against Fulham.
We were not at our best during the opening 45 minutes, and Fulham thought they had broken the deadlock midway through the half when Joshua King netted. Yet the goal was ruled out following a VAR review.
It proved a turning point as, in first-half stoppage time, Joao Pedro headed home his fifth goal in six matches to put Chelsea ahead. And after the interval, an Enzo Fernandez penalty following a handball from Ryan Sessegnon, again awarded after a VAR recommendation, put the Blues firmly in control.
Maresca's side was able to see out the game without major alarm to claim our first home victory of the campaign, and the Chelsea head coach was pleased with the improvement shown by his players after the break.
‘I am very happy because we have played three games and have seven points,' the Blues head coach said. 'That’s important, and I'm very happy in general.
'Today I wasn’t happy after the first half because we didn’t play on the ball in the way we prepared the game, and we were not good enough at winning second balls and duels.
'Second half, we were completely brilliant. On the ball, we were very good, won most second balls, and we dominated the game.
'We deserved to win the game. We dominated in the second half and if you’re not strong enough against this team, you will struggle.’
The only disappointment of the afternoon was an early injury sustained early into the contest by Liam Delap.
The 22-year-old was chasing down a long pass forward from Marc Cucurella when he pulled up and signaled he had an issue with his hamstring. Delap was forced off and is set for a spell on the sidelines, according to Maresca.
He added: ‘Liam will unfortunately be out for a while and we will try to find different solutions.’