A bonkers game unfolded at Craven Cottage on Monday night, with both Fulham and Chelsea playing their part in an entertaining final chapter of this opening Premier League weekend.
The Blues edged it 3-2 but that only told half of the story, with shots, drama and talking points aplenty in West London.
There will no doubt have been supporters of both clubs who didn’t get to witness the opening goal, such was its promptness. It took Chelsea just 30 seconds to carve open the Fulham defence, Cole Palmer teeing up Joao Pedro for a sumptuous, chipped finish over the advancing Bernd Leno. It has to be said, though, plenty of help was provided by Fulham’s centre-halves being so far apart from each other.
At that point it threatened to be a runaway win for Xabi Alonso’s side with the front three of Pedro, Palmer and record English signing Morgan Rogers in dazzling form. The latter two in particular were intertwining well on what was Rogers’ Chelsea bow after his mega move from Aston Villa.
But a number of missed chances came back to haunt the visitors and after slow but steady improvement by Fulham, they eventually drew level midway through the half when the impressive Josh King saw a shot squirm under Robert Sanchez.
Despite all the money lavished on new additions, it remains a head-scratcher as to why Chelsea have not invested sufficiently in a new goalkeeper. Sanchez has had ample chances to prove his worth but yet again he produced an error-strewn display here. Perhaps it is an area that new boss Alonso will tend to before the transfer window shuts for business on September 1.
Thankfully for the sheepish Sanchez, his teammates bailed him out and Rogers netted just before the break on debut – smashing home from Maxence Lacroix’s precise centre. Chelsea increased their buffer just after the restart thanks to Palmer’s drive from an acute angle to ensure all three of the Blues’ forwards got on the scoresheet.
Gonzalo Garcia then reduced the arrears again, with Sanchez once more at fault as he pushed a shot straight into the path of the ex-Real Madrid man. Fulham rallied with star man King coming close to doubling his own tally, but ultimately Chelsea held out for an impressive opening night success, albeit with caveats.
Whilst plenty will be purring about the new-look front three and how well they linked up, many will point to the flaws of their goalkeeper. It will be fascinating to see if the latter issue is tackled before the window’s closure.
