A Chelsea squad that cost £680m to assemble was held to a 0-0 draw by Fulham in a west London derby in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Friday night.
Chelsea handed starts to over £200m worth of new talent alone in Enzo Fernandez, one of the few Blues players to impress and Mykhailo Mudryk. But the Cottagers won the tactical battle and have risen to the dizzying heights of sixth in the table as a reward for their efforts.
As was to be expected it was Chelsea who had the lion’s share of possession and looked to probe from the off. Mudryk looked sharp in the opening stages but the ball never quite reached or fell to the lightning quick Ukrainian winger – he was hooked at half-time.
But for all Chelsea’s early tempo, Fulham carved out the best opportunities in the opening stages. Bobby Decordova-Reid couldn’t direct a header on target, but Andreas Pereira brought a fine save out of Kepa in the Chelsea goal after a low drive angled towards the corner from outside the box.
Aside from one chance that was flagged offside anyway, Chelsea didn’t really have a clear sight of goal until half an hour in. Mason Mount made it by running into the left channel and fizzing it towards Kai Havertz in the middle, with the slightest touch from Tim Ream putting the German off.
Havertz went on to glance one off the woodwork just before half-time. Hakim Ziyech’s perfect through ball split the Fulham defence, but as Havertz tried to lift the ball over the onrushing Leno, it dropped onto the post and out rather than into the net.
The start of the second half followed a similar pattern to the first. Chelsea controlled the ball, yet it was Fulham who went closer to scoring, with Pereira, Palhinha and Decordova-Reid all having half chances. Aleksandar Mitrovic then tried to embarrass Kepa when he saw an opportunity from the halfway line, but the Chelsea stopper backpedalled just enough to stop the ball dropping in.
Chelsea were struggling to make things happen but almost landed a gift when Premier League debutant David Fofana managed to rounded a rash Leno, only to see a finish that lacked conviction blocked on the line by Fulham skipper Tim Ream.
The visitors continued to frustrate their wealthy hosts as the minutes ticked by, with substitutions from both sides ultimately killing off the rhythm of the game and even a threatened late Chelsea surge petering out into not much of anything.
GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga – 6/10 – The busier of the two goalkeepers with a few decent stops.
RB: Reece James – 6/10 – Feeling his way back in after a lengthy layoff. Given an hour.
CB: Thiago Silva (c) – 8/10 – So impressive when balls came into the box.
CB: Benoit Badiashile – 7/10 – Had a decent game given the threat of Mitrovic.
LB: Marc Cucurella – 6/10 – Never in real trouble defensively but minimal attacking impact.
CM: Conor Gallagher – 6/10 – Put a shift in and didn’t much give the ball away. Lacked the quality to break Fulham’s excellent shape.
CM: Enzo Fernandez – 7/10 – Straight in for his debut less than three days after joining and made a confident start to his Chelsea career.
RM: Hakim Ziyech – 6/10 – Surprise starter after almost leaving this week. Handful of good moments but not clear if a twisted ankle shortly before he left the pitch was a reason for being subbed.
AM: Mason Mount – 5/10 – Made a decent chance in the first half but gernally lacked incisiveness.
LM: Mykhailo Mudryk – 4/10 – Looked sharp and as through he was making good runs, but things never quite happened for him. Didn’t return for the second half.
ST: Kai Havertz – 5/10 – Had a couple of chances but was left way too isolated in a quite disjointed attacking performance from Chelsea.
Substitutes
SUB: Noni Madueke (46′ for Mudryk) – 5/10
SUB: Cesar Azpilicueta (60′ for James) – 6/10
SUB: Raheem Sterling (60′ for Ziyech) – 5/10
SUB: David Fofana (75′ for Mount) – 7/10
SUB: Ben Chilwell (84′ for Cucurella) – N/A
Manager
Graham Potter – 5/10 – Rewarded for his faith in Fernandez. Injected a little more experience into the side with his substitutions after an hour, but clear he doesn’t know his best team.
GK: Bernd Leno – 6/10 – Didn’t have a lot of saves to make and got away with recklessly rushing out of his goal when Fofana was running through. A big high claim in stoppage time was vital.
RB: Kenny Tete – 9/10 – Made a few last ditch interventions in critical moments. Had Mudryk first, and and later Madueke and Sterling in his pocket.
CB: Issa Diop – 7/10 – Won his headers and tackles when it mattered.
CB: Tim Ream (c) – 8/10 – Superb block on the line from Fofana towards the end. Had already denied Havertz an almost certain goal in the first half.
LB: Antonee Robinson – 7/10 – Ensured there was no way for the hosts to get through down his side.
CM: Harrison Reed – 8/10 – Frustrated Chelsea at every turn.
CM: Joao Palhinha – 8/10 – Made it difficult for Chelsea to play through the middle.
RM: Bobby Decordova-Reid – 7/10 – Extremely hardworking on the right. Committed several fouls and was eventually shown a yellow card.
AM: Andreas Pereira – 7/10 – Had one of the best chances of the games with a shot out of nothing.
LM: Willian – 7/10 – Didn’t see much of the ball in an attacking sense but it was a disciplined all-round performance against his former club.
ST: Aleksandar Mitrovic – 6/10 – Made himself a physical threat. Not far off scoring a spectacular goal from the halfway line but lacked enough service.
Substitutes
SUB: Manor Solomon (75′ for Willian) – 7/10
SUB: Harry Wilson (75′ for Decordova-Reid) – 7/10
SUB: Carlos Vinicius (90+1′ for Mitrovic) – N/A
SUB: Tom Cairney (90+1′ for Reed) – N/A
SUB: Layvin Kurzawa (90+4′ for Pereira) – N/A
Manager
Marco Silva – 8/10 – Trusted his starters on the whole but made chances to freshen things up at the right times. The gameplan from a defensive perspective was perfect.
Player of the match – Kenny Tete (Fulham)
