West London was the setting in a derby usually won by the blue side of Fulham, and today was no different. A poor Chelsea side ultimetley limped to a 2-0 victory! Chelsea started slow, a suspected hamstring injury for new boy Liam Delap led to Tyrique George leading the line for the majority of the afternoon. 

On 23 minutes, vibrant 18 year old Josh King broke free and expertly finished his first senior goal! His celebrations however were short lived after referee Rob Jones disallowed the goal for what is a subjectively soft foul by Rodrigo Muniz on Trevor Chalobah in the build up. 

A string of dangerous corners in first half addition time finally gave Chelsea their breakthrough. Joao Pedro rose highest to meet Enzo Fernandez’s inswinger, the finish easy from such close range. 

A controversial penalty gave Chelsea their second goal, just after the break. Trevor Chalobah’s strike was blocked clearly by Ryan Sessegnon’s arm, however it looked like Chelsea had made multiple infractions in the build up to the incident, Pedro’s handball and Caicedo’s challenge on Iwobi the two Fulham fans will have grievences about. Enzo stepped up and hit his pen straight down the middle, Leno got his trailing leg on it, but couldn’t keep it out! 

Chelsea managed the game well from then until the end. Estevao provided a couple bright moments, showing his flair. While Fulham’s closest effort came late on, Joao Pedro meeting Sander Berge’s effort on the line, and clearing it with great aplomb! 

Maresca will be pleased as we head into the international break. 7 points out of a possible 9, only 1 goal conceded, and a nice two week break for Cole Palmer and others to recover. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend Chelsea fans! Up the Chels.