Fulham 2-1 Chelsea: At a jubilant Craven Cottage, new Blues head coach Liam Rosenior watched from the stands as poor discipline took its toll once again.
At least Liam Rosenior had a great perspective on the scale of the task facing him at Chelsea. It’s hard to imagine things could get any worse for Chelsea, and one wonders why the new manager chose to sit in the stands rather than throw himself straight in.
Marc Cucurella was sent off, Chelsea lost at the hands of their neighbours, fans shouted abuse at co-owner Behdad Egbali and the new era got off to another bad start. Chelsea fans chanted “Fuck Egbali, you’re not wanted here” to the club’s co-owner, who was sitting next to Rosenior in the directors’ box at Craven Cottage.
Rosenior has appointed Under-21s manager Callum MacFarlane, who oversaw Sunday’s draw with Manchester City, back in charge. The reason for this is that Rosenior did not have enough time to prepare his new players, although Thomas Tuchel famously only needed one practice session before playing his first game of 2021.
read more: Why Liam Rosenior disrespected the Chelsea manager at Fulham despite arriving on the team busread more: Marc Cucurella receives red card in Chelsea nightmare after teammate verbally abuses referee
But Rosenior continued to curse at the final whistle as 10-man Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League hit a snag once again. In-form Harry Wilson once again became Fulham’s hero as the home fans chanted “Harry Wilson, at it again!” He is unstoppable now.
Fulham celebrated at the final whistle and Rosenior’s first task will be to improve Chelsea’s disciplinary record. Chelsea have found it difficult enough to win games this season with 11 players, let alone 10. It was Cucurella’s fifth red card in the Premier League this season, the most since his sixth in the 2007/08 season.
And without a doubt, Fulham fully deserved the win. There were some nervous moments early on with Bernd Leno looking dangerous, but he contributed to a major flashpoint in the match. Leno punted the ball down the field and Wilson ran away but was pulled back by Cucurella.
Referee Peter Banks had no hesitation in handing out the red card and a VAR check ruled that the pull-back occurred outside the penalty area, saving Chelsea from further punishment. Wilson’s kick hit the wall, but Chelsea had to change their game plan and persisted after introducing defender Jorel Hato in place of midfielder Santos.
Emile Smith Rowe saw the goal whistle go just over the bar before Wilson slotted the ball into the net, but VAR ruled Raul Jimenez offside in the build-up.
However, 10 minutes into the second half, Sander Berge’s brilliant cross appeared to be a goal for Jimenez, and in the end, 10 men conceded a goal. Things looked pretty ominous for Chelsea. But to be fair, they fought back. Liam Delap was denied by Leno. However, that reprieve did not last long.
Pedro Neto swung a corner kick, which Fulham defender Anthony Robinson unwittingly headed against his own post, allowing Delap to equalize from close range.
The drama wasn’t over yet. Fulham are back. Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez made a smart save, but the ball fell into the hands of Wilson, who stepped inside and fired a brilliant low shot into the far corner.
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