Fulham 0-2 Chelsea: What Were The Main Talking Points As The Blues Claim A Crucial Boost At Craven Cottage?

With all eyes falling on Craven Cottage on Monday night, Chelsea picked up west London bragging rights and a welcomed boost as they landed a 2-0 victory against Fulham.

Watching Mykhaoli Mudryk finally open his Chelsea account with a slick finish in the 18th minute, Mauricio Pochettino’s side quickly doubled their lead as the returning Armando Broja capitalised on some sloppy Fulham defending just seconds on.

Picking up just their second Premier League victory of the season here, Chelsea also produced what will be regarded as a season-best display at Craven Cottage.

Not really having to get out of second gear here, Fulham will be disappointed by a flat performance on home soil.

Failing to create any real opportunities against a Chelsea squad that have come under increasing scrutiny, the Cottagers have now mustered just a single win from their previous five Premier League appearances on either side of September’s international break.

On a night when Chelsea produced a season-best performance, we have taken a look at the main talking points from Craven Cottage.

Pochettino gets the performance he was demanding

Although Chelsea might have extended on their EFL Cup adventure last week as they edged past Brighton thanks to a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge, the Blues have come under plenty of criticism.

Making the trip across west London after winning just one of their opening six Premier League appearances, Pochettino was desperate for his side to silence their critics on Monday night.

Gaining a reputation for their extended struggles in the final third since they appointed the former Tottenham boss, the Blues certainly put in what was their most polished performance of the season so far.

However, while Chelsea might have now shipped just a single strike in their last four meetings against Premier League opposition, they must use this display as a platform to build on.

Still battling it out in the bottom-half of the table, Pochettino’s side know that they can not afford any more public slip-ups if they’re to mount any kind of European charge this time around.

Chelsea will be sweating over Mudryk

Making a blockbuster £89million move to Chelsea way back in January, it is fair to say that Mudryk has rather drastically struggled to find his feet in west London.

However, finally notching his first goal for the Blues across any competitions on Monday night after slotting past ex-Arsenal keeper Bernd Leno, Pochettino was filled with praise for the Ukranian international following their 2-0 victory.

However, while Mudryk might have caused Fulham a string of issues throughout the first-half and put in his most polished performance in a Chelsea shirt, the 22-year-old did not return after the interval.

With Pochettino stating that the former Shakhtar Donetsk had to be replaced due to an injury issue that he picked up during the first-half, the Blues will be sweating over Mudryk.

Already dealing with a stacked injury list that includes the likes of Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell, Trevor Chalobah and summer recruit Romeo Lavia, the last thing Chelsea need is another first-team star in their treatment room.

Fulham miss out on the chance to make a heavyweight statement

Extending on their EFL Cup adventure last week as they claimed a 2-1 victory against Championship outfit Norwich, Fulham would have opened Monday’s showdown confident of springing an upset at Craven Cottage.

However, although Marco Silva’s men might have had their sights set on breaking back into the top-half, the former Everton boss would have been frustrated by a fact performance on home soil.

While second-half substitute Sasa Lukic might have missed a golden chance in the final 15 minutes, Fulham struggled to find much fluidity and Silva could be middle concerned over his side’s recent issues at Craven Cottage.

Including another west London derby defeat on August 19th as they slumped to a shock 3-0 drumming at the hands of Brentford, Monday’s hosts have now recorded just a single victory from their first four Premier League appearances in front of their own supporters.

Although the Cottagers might have opened up the 2023/24 campaign dreaming of the chance to claim another top-10 finish, Silva’s side will be desperate to claim a recent boost this weekend when they welcome Sheffield United to the capital.

Match Report

Fulham: Leno, Castagne, Diop, Ream, Robinson, Reed, Palhinha, Pereira, Wilson, Jiminez, Willian

Subs: Cairney, Iwobi, Lukic, Vinicius

Chelsea: Sanchez, Cucurella, Días, Silva, Colwill, Fernandez, Caicedo, Gallagher, Palmer, Broja, Mudryk

Subs: Matos, Maatsen, Ugochukwu, Madueke, Sterling

Goals: Mudryk (18’), Broja (19’)

Yellow Cards: Fulham: Pereira – Chelsea: Palmer, Cucurella, Sanchez, Sterling

Red Cards: N/A

Referee: Tim Robinson