In the minds of the optimists who occupy the boardroom at Stamford Bridge, there will come a time when Chelsea can look back on the night they lost to Fulham for the first time in 17 years and laugh at their times. new signing from Atlético Madrid went overboard with his attempts to prove he could handle the turmoil of English football.
Yet the problem with this theory, the one implying that West London’s third-best club are rewarded for allowing Graham Potter to guide them through this most delicate transition, is that it contradicts reality. current. There is trust in the process and then there is the spectacle of chelsea standing in 10th place.
This, while injuries must be considered, lurks in crisis territory. In the end, Chelsea were down six points Fulham and, while there were encouraging glimmers of João Felix before his debut ended with a reckless red card, the fact is that a team brought together at such great expense should not be on a seven-game losing streak in their last 10 games.
It’s going to be a long road back for Potter. On the bright side, he could at least talk about positives for Chelsea. There had been some flashes of the old challenge, characterized by Kalidou Koulibaly raising another rickety defensive display by smuggling in an equalizer just after half-time, and there had been flashes of enterprising football.
To give Potter credit, it might have turned out differently had Felix kept his cool instead of taking down Kenny Tete when the game was locked at 1-1 after 58 minutes. But Chelsea lost, the 10 men cracking when Carlos Vinicius headed in the winner in the 73rd minute. It was another sweet concession, with Thiago Silva and Kepa Arrizabalaga both at fault, and Fulham could cherish sixth place.
The jubilation of Fulham fans, who cannot believe how well Marco Silva’s side have performed since their promotion, was hard to bear. It’s not supposed to be like that for Chelsea, although their demise isn’t just about whether it was right to replace Thomas Tuchel with Potter. After all, it wasn’t Potter who signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who didn’t even come off the bench when Chelsea were chasing a late point.
The balance is not good. Koulibaly was a poor signing, while Marc Cucurella’s late cameo highlighted why 18-year-old Lewis Hall was chosen at left-back instead of the £62million Spaniard.
Chelsea made some strange choices. Koulibaly’s attempts to play from the back were laughable and a terrible error from Trevoh Chalobah led to Bobby Decordova-Reid firing a shot against the bar. As for Fulham’s 25th-minute opener, it came from Hall conceding possession to Reid in a dangerous position and Chalobah failing to clear his lines. The ball returns to Willian who escapes César Azpilicueta and sees his sparkling strike beat Arrizabalaga thanks to a deflection on Chalobah.
Willian did not celebrate the deepening misery of his former side. The sight of the running Brazilian at Azpilicueta had stirred memories of better times for Chelsea, although there was at least some hope for the future. Potter’s 3-5-2 system gave the visitors control of midfield during the early stages, there was some welcome reassurance from Kai Havertz after his dismal performance in the FA Cup loss to Manchester City and he There were plenty of nice touches from Felix, who spent most of his time on the pitch floating, dancing past defenders and creating chances.
A slender presence, Felix was not intimidated by the physical challenge. The Portuguese striker is an expensive loan signing, but he could be inspired. Felix was ready despite only having one training session after leaving Atlético. His first involvement almost led to a goal for Hall and there was danger every time he got on the ball.
The only disappointment, Félix, who almost scored on several occasions, will be suspended for three games. His dismissal was the turning point. Chelsea had just canceled out Willian’s goal. Hall had won a free-kick down the left, Mount had nearly caught Leno at his near post and Koulibaly had pushed the ball over the line.
At this point, the momentum was with Chelsea. Fulham, who had needed Leno to deny Hall, were nervous. But nothing is going Chelsea’s way. Their injury list grew when Denis Zakaria, who was playing well in midfield, limped off. Felix’s brainless slot soon followed.
At 10 men, Chelsea tried to stay firm, threatening when Havertz extended Leno. With 17 minutes remaining, however, Andreas Pereira’s cross flew past Silva and Arrizabalaga’s poor positioning was punished by Vinicius. The hardest job in football, as Potter had said, had become even harder.
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