Struggling Chelsea Flop At Fulham, Extend Losing Streak

Fulham increased the pressure on Chelsea boss Graham Potter with a shock 2-1 victory that saw Blues forward Joao Felix sent off on his debut before a decisive blunder from Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Seven losses have been suffered by Potter’s struggling team in their last 10 games across all competitions.

Willian, a former winger for Chelsea, scored the game’s opening goal at Craven Cottage.

As a consequence of their fourth straight victory, Fulham moved up to sixth position, four points behind fourth-place Manchester United.

Felix was quickly inserted into the lineup and displayed his talent during the first half, but he will now sit out three games and join a long list of players who are unavailable for Potter.

With some deft wide play to set up Kai Havertz, Felix nearly made an impact right away. The ball then dropped to Lewis Hall following a rebound, but his shot was directly at Bernd Leno.

Chelsea dominated the ball in the early part of the first half, but it was the home side who came closest to taking the lead, when Bobby Decordova-Reid found himself unmarked in the box, and his strike rebounded off the crossbar.

Fulham broke the deadlock almost immediately afterwards when Willian, on the edge of the box, beat the defender and saw a shot deflect past Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Read Also: Chelsea Finally Agree Joao Felix Signing From Atletico Madrid

Kalidou Koulibaly equalised after the break but Felix was dismissed for a reckless studs-up lunge on Kenny Tete before Carlos Vinicius headed the late winner after Kepa’s mistake.

The former Chelsea player remained respectful to the club he previously represented by not celebrating only his second goal for Fulham.

Fulham kept the pressure on until the end of the first half, with Chelsea struggling to impose themselves in the same manner as they had before the goal.

Chelsea equalised early in the second half when a Mason Mount free-kick was just bundled in by Koulibaly, with the technology confirming the ball had crossed the line before Leno was able to gather.

Felix’s debut came to a crashing end when he went flying into a challenge in the middle of the pitch, catching Tete mid-shin with his studs up, and was shown the red card immediately by referee David Coote.

Fulham capitalised on the numerical advantage, when Vinicius beat the Chelsea defenders to head home an Andreas Pereira cross at the far post.

Vinicius was brought into the side in place of the suspended Aleksandar Mitrovic – who picked up his fifth yellow card of the season against Leicester in the previous Premier League match – but made the most of his opportunity by restoring Fulham’s lead in the 73rd minute.

Africa Today News, New York

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