FULHAM 2-3 CHELSEA: The Blues have kicked off their season in the best way by squeezing past their West London rivals at Craven Cottage on Monday evening
Xabi Alonso enjoyed a dream Chelsea debut as his new side edged Fulham in a five-goal thriller at Craven Cottage on Monday evening.
Joao Pedro gave his new boss an ideal start to life in West London, scoring the opener after just 30 seconds. But Fulham hit back through the Josh King.
Morgan Rogers was to have a say on his Chelsea debut, with a goal just before the break, while Cole Palmer then got on the scoresheet. The drama was not finished there, with Gonzalo Garcia scoring for the hosts on his debut.
Pedro thought he had wrapped things up late on as he fired in following Bernd Leno’s save but his celebrations were cut short by the linesman.
Here are all of the talking points from Craven Cottage:
Pedro on point
Just a few days after putting pen to paper on a new deal and being entrusted with the number nine shirt at Stamford Bridge, Brazilian forward Pedro celebrated with a goal.
One simple ball from the back split apart the Fulham defence, with Palmer playing Pedro through. The former Brighton man then deftly lifted the ball over Bernd Leno.
After 23 goals last season, Pedro looks set to be a crucial player for Chelsea once more.
Sanchez shockers
While Pedro has shone ever since arriving at Chelsea, the same cannot quite be said of Robert Sanchez. The Spanish goalkeeper has dropped a number of clangers as a Chelsea player and that was no different at Craven Cottage.
Josh King – who has caught the eye since breaking through into the side – was afforded far too much room to charge into the Chelsea penalty area. He let fly with an effort that appeared to be relatively easy for Sanchez to collect at his near post.
But he was positioned woefully and let the shot squirm through his hands and into the net. He then parried a later shot from back into the danger area, with Garcia heading home and reducing the deficit.
If Chelsea want to achieve anything this season, they might need to look at upgrading their goalkeeper.
Rogers off the mark
Chelsea regained the lead just before the half-time interval and it was £117m man Morgan Rogers with the goal – albeit he did not have to do much.
A brilliant bit of play from Cole Palmer saw defender Maxence Lacroix find room down the right. The Frenchman showed plenty of skill to draw Leno into a challenge, before playing a ball across the box to Rogers, who had the simple task of tapping home.
He will no doubt score more spectacular goals for Chelsea but regardless, he will be delighted that he’s managed to get off the mark so soon for his new employers.
Palmer back to his best
There might have been a bit of a debate in the Chelsea dressing room at full time about Rogers’ celebration – and whose it actually is. Palmer also pulled out the move moments after the restart as he scored his first goal of the season.
Pedro held the ball up and waited for his teammate, who was on the overlapping run. The ex-Manchester City man then finished coolly between the legs of Leno.
After a season in which he endured a frustrating time of things – and missed out on a place in England’s World Cup squad – Palmer looks back to his best.
Alonso gets the better of Arbeloa
There won’t have been a more poignant game for both Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa to start their Premier League managerial careers. The pair have of course been closely associated throughout their careers.
After being teammates at Liverpool, they were reunited at Real Madrid. They also both had managerial stints at the Bernabeu last season, both of them left with points to prove after leaving the club.
And then turning to their spells with Chelsea and Fulham, it was Alonso who came out on top. It’s still early days but it appears that the same result could be said of the Premier League table at the end of the season.
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