4 months ago
It was a clang people successful nan modern Chelsea for Liam Rosenior. The caller caput coach saw rash decisions undermine flashes of committedness and heard rumblings of discontent. Few supporters are convinced by nan club’s guidance and nan cracks were evident erstwhile nan travelling supporters aimed mutinous chants astatine nan Chelsea level arsenic they watched their erratic broadside autumn to a chaotic 2-1 conclusion astatine Fulham.
Steering this task backmost connected people will not beryllium easy for Rosenior. Perhaps he will bespeak that he has already made his first misstep since leaving Strasbourg. He elected not to beryllium successful nan distant dugout, leaving Calum McFarlane successful interim complaint aft nan tie pinch Manchester City, and nan consequence was Chelsea producing a directionless capacity successful which they mislaid Marc Cucurella to an early reddish paper earlier losing to a precocious extremity from Harry Wilson.
Watching from nan directors’ container gave Rosenior a bully position of his caller side’s strengths and weaknesses. The erstwhile Fulham right-back sat adjacent to Behdad Eghbali, nan club’s co-controlling owner, aft a dizzying fewer days and it is easy to ideate conversations during nan first half quickly turning to Chelsea’s chronic deficiency of discipline.
Chelsea started well. Taking complaint for nan 2nd and last time, McFarlane stuck to nine argumentation and rotated heavily. Andrey Santos was a notable inclusion successful midfield and location was an opportunity for Liam Delap to build connected a agleam cameo against City successful attack.
Some of nan shot was agleam and purposeful from nan visitors. Fulham sat successful a heavy backmost five, conscionable arsenic they had during their tie pinch Liverpool, and were fortunate not to autumn down successful nan 18th minute. Santos someway headed a area against nan barroom and only a good prevention from Bernd Leno prevented Moisés Caicedo from scoring nan rebound.
Yet frailties lingered astatine nan different end. Fulham’s wily bunch of cast-offs group their stall retired pinch immoderate meaty challenges, testing Chelsea’s temperament. Sander Berge was combative successful midfield, Wilson doubly tested Robert Sánchez’s reflexes and nan temper changed erstwhile Chelsea grounded to reset aft their ain corner. A elemental punt from Leno sent Wilson done connected extremity and nan Fulham winger outpaced Cucurella, whose unseemly tangle pinch nan Welshman connected nan separator of nan area was intolerable to construe arsenic thing different than nan denial of an evident goalscoring opportunity.
Chelsea raged astatine their eighth reddish paper successful each competitions this season, Enzo Fernández, Cole Palmer and Tosin Adarabioyo earning yellows for dissent, but they had to refocus. Jorrel Hato moved to left-back aft replacing Santos and Fulham took a while to accommodate to Chelsea’s debased block. Short of ideas, they were restricted to Emile Smith Rowe shooting complete from 20 yards and Wilson seeing a extremity disallowed erstwhile a minuscule offside telephone went against Jiménez.
Perhaps it helped that Chelsea person had plentifulness of believe playing pinch 10 men. Seeking much options successful attack, Silva removed Jorge Cuenca, put Kevin connected nan near helping and moved to a backmost four. He wanted Fulham playing pinch much urgency. They pressed Chelsea and nan breakthrough came erstwhile a turnover led to Berge crossing for Jiménez, who darted successful beforehand of Trevoh Chalobah to nonstop a superb header beyond Sánchez.
Fulham pushed for more, Kevin flashing a changeable conscionable wide, Wilson almost bursting through. In nan distant end, meanwhile, dissatisfaction was rising. Eghbali was subjected to abusive chants and location was a banner calling for BlueCo, nan consortium that owns Strasbourg and Chelsea, to waste up.
With only a extremity successful it, though, location was still dream for Chelsea and they should person equalised erstwhile Palmer dummied Adarabioyo’s walk done to Delap, who grounded to assistance his changeable complete Leno.
Chelsea stirred. Palmer, mostly quiet, twisted past Antonee Robinson and drew a prevention from Leno. McFarlane made a subtle alteration, nan preamble of Reece James for Fernández seeing Malo Gusto move into midfield, and nan alteration unsettled Fulham.
The unit grew and nan equaliser arrived pinch 18 minutes left. Pedro Neto delivered a area from nan right, Robinson glanced nan shot against nan barroom and Delap reacted quickest to move nan rebound into nan net.
It was not capable to quell nan mutiny. On nan pitch, Chelsea retreated. Fulham recovered a 2nd upwind and led again erstwhile Wilson fastened connected to a loose shot aft seeing Sánchez contradict Smith Rowe. He dodged past Hato, squeezed a debased decorativeness past Sánchez for his seventh extremity of nan play and lifted Fulham level connected points pinch Chelsea.
