Fulham 2-1 Chelsea: Carlos Vinicius gives Whites famous win as on-loan Joao Felix sent off on Blues debut
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Updated 12/01/2023 at 22:05 GMT
Chelsea’s miserable recent run continued with a 2-1 defeat at West London rivals Fulham. Former Blue Willian opened the scoring against his old side before Kalidou Koulibaly leveled after the break. Joao Felix, making his Chelsea debut on-loan from Atletico Madrid was sent off for a high tackle before Carlos Vinicius headed in the winner.
Fulham's Brazilian striker Carlos Vinicius (R) celebrates with Fulham's US defender Tim Ream (C) after scoring their second goal during the English Premier League football match between Fulham and Chelsea at Craven Cottage in London on January 12, 2023
Image credit: Getty Images
Fulham piled the misery on Graham Potter and Chelsea as they defeated their West London rivals 2-1 at Craven Cottage.
Debutant Joao Felix was sent off for the visitors before Carlos Vinicius’ header earned the hosts their fourth straight top flight win for the first time since 1966.
Both teams started brightly, with Vinicius and Felix firing off-target at either end, before Bobby Decordova-Reid rattled the bar for the hosts. Minutes later, the Cottagers took the lead as the Blues failed to deal with a cross into the box which fell to Willian, who saw his deflected shot beat Kepa.
The visitors desperately tried to get back into the game before the break, but they were twice thwarted by Bernd Leno, who firstly made a brilliant stop from Lewis Hall’s effort, which took a clip off a defender, before making a smart stop from Felix’s snapshot.
Chelsea’s fortunes were somewhat better after the break though as they equalised just two minutes into the second period through Kalidou Koulibaly, forcing home from close range after Mason Mount’s free-kick had rattled the post.
That was as good as it got for the Blues though, who had Felix sent off just before the hour mark, receiving a straight red card for a reckless and high tackle on Kenny Tete. 15 minutes later, Fulham retook the lead thanks to Vinicius’ towering header, meeting Andreas Pereira’s cross to nod home and earn Marco Silva’s side a thoroughly deserved three points, while Chelsea suffered their sixth defeat in eight games.
TALKING POINT - Felix set for spell on the sidelines
Joao Felix only arrived at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, but he was thrown straight into the starting line-up and put in a lively display, drifting across the front line and forcing Bernd Leno into a handful of saves.
However, he’ll now miss Chelsea’s next three matches after picking up a straight red card just before the hourmark for a reckless lunge into Kenny Tete as he tried to win back possession.
The tackle left referee David Coote with no other choice, as Felix went in with his studs showing and caught the defender well above his ankle and, despite the protests of his teammates and manager, the decision was, rightly, not overturned.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Andreas Pereira (Fulham). There were several Fulham players who thoroughly impressed, but none were more dangerous than Andreas Pereira, who was a constant threat throughout.
The former Manchester United man caused problems all evening with his delivery into the box, both from open play and dead ball situations, delivering with plenty of whip and pace to trouble the Chelsea defence.
Indeed, it was his stunning cross that led to the winner, superbly picking out Vinicius at the back post with a deep ball to the back post that was begging to be headed home by the striker.
PLAYER RATINGS
FULHAM: Leno 8; Tete 7, Adarabioyo 7, Ream 7, Robinson 7; Cordova-Reid 8, Palhinha 7, Pereira 8, Reed 6, Willian 7; Vinicius 8. Subs: Wilson 6, Cairney 6, Solomon n/a, James n/a, Nathaniel Chalobah n/a
Subs: Rodak, Kurzawa, Diop, James, Harris
CHELSEA: Kepa 6; Trevor Chalobah 6, Silva 7, Koulibaly 6; Azpilicueta 6, Zakaria 6, Kovacic 5, Hall 6; Mount 5, Felix 5, Havertz 5. Subs: Jorginho 7, Cucurella n/a, Chukwuemeka n/a, Ziyech n/a, Gallagher n/a
Subs: Bettinelli, Badiashile, Fofana, Aubameyang
KEY MOMENTS
24’ OFF THE BAR! That's the closest we've come to a goal so far. Silva loses out in a battle with Vinicius, who works the ball to Bobby Decordova-Reid. The Fulham man has a crack, and rattles the bar with Kepa beaten
25’ GOAL! FULHAM 1-0 CHELSEA (Willian). It had to be, didn't it? The Brazilian scores against his former club as Chelsea fail to deal with Decordova-Reid's cross into the box, which falls to Willian, who works the ball on to his right foot and sees a deflected shot hit the post and cross the line
47’ GOAL! FULHAM 1-1 CHELSEA (Koulibaly). Wow! What a start to the second half for Chelsea! Mount's whipped free-kick from the left hits the post, but it falls to Kalidou Koulibaly, who forces over the line. All-square!
58’ RED CARD - FELIX SENT OFF. A debut to forget for Felix. He goes in high on Tete, catching the defender well above the ankle and he's given a straight red card. The referee had no other choice
73’ GOAL! FULHAM 2-1 CHELSEA (Vinicius). They've got a way through now! Stunning cross into the box from Pereira, absolutely sensational, whipping the ball to the back post for Vinicius to nod home with a towering header. Magnificent
KEY STATS
- This is the first time Fulham have beaten Chelsea in 22 meetings since 2006, when Luis Boa Morte netted in a 1-0 win
- Having played one game more, Chelsea remain 19 points behind league leaders Arsenal, and ten points off the top four
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