Chelsea have won back-to-back games for just the third time this calendar year, bringing our grand total of league wins to three (3) in our last nineteen (19!). So it’s probably a bit premature to think that we’ve completely turned the corner now.
But it does feel like we’re moving in the right direction once again, after the false dawn of our preseason performances. And for head coach Mauricio Pochettino, that’s precisely the validation he’s been looking for, after working hard to maintain positivity over our recent results.
He’s certainly not getting ahead of himself, and neither should anyone else, but today’s fairly comfortable 2-0 win against Fulham at Craven Cottage is indeed a small step taken forward — one of many that we need to take.
“It is the same feeling from the start of the season, the difference is the result we got what we deserve. The performance was very good. In the first half I think we play really well. Second half I think we controlled more of the game.
“[We] need to understand young people need time to settle. […] It is difficult but it is about time, and to be patient. It is to trust these guys, these young talented players. It’s a massive job, a step-by-step but very short steps.
“Sometimes people don’t have the patience but for us it is patience. Even when were losing and not winning at the beginning of the season. We were calm, and believed and were confidence. Now we have won two games in the last few days, I think it is important to be calm, to keep improving, to trust and to build belief and confidence.”
We may have won a couple games at long last, but one habit we still haven’t kicked is the injury-habit, with no fewer than three players hobbling off today. One of them, Armando Broja, seems to have been a planned change on the hour-mark, but Mykhailo Mudryk was forced off at the half and Moisés Caicedo couldn’t quite finish out the game either.
Of the two, Mudryk’s injury seems to be the more concerning at the minute.
“I hope Misha is not a big issue because he feel something in his quad at the end of the first half and hopefully he arrives on Saturday.”
“Caicedo was a contusion but also hopefully it’s nothing wrong. He was tired, but it was a contusion.”
It would be an especially cruel blow for Mudryk to miss any time after it’s taken him nine months to open his goalscoring account (and start playing like advertised prior to his big-money move to Chelsea in January).
“[…] Now we are focusing to try and prepare the game Saturday, which will be tough also. I think It is important for the players to be relieved after two victories. Then we were playing well and we keep working and we keep giving providing them the tools to play well. I’m so happy for the players. Now ready to Saturday but first we need to recover the players and hope its not a big issue so we have a competitive squad for Saturday.”
🔄 90+5′
Caicedo leaves in pain and leaves his place to Madueke
⏱️ 90′
Five minutes of added time;
⏱️ 88′
Castagne arrives on the right and Robert Sánchez catches it. In these last minutes only Fulham is attacking;
🟨 87′
Yellow card to Robert Sanchez for time wasting
⏱️ 83′
Wilian’s shot blocked by Robert Sanchez
⏱️ 77′
Saša Lukić’s close-range shot was saved by Robert Sánchez to deny Fulham.
⏱️ 74′
Carlos Vinicius’ header is blocked without problems by the Spanish goalkeeper.
⏱️ 73′
Andreas Pereira’s cross from the corner, but Robert Sanchez gets the ball.
🟨 68′
Yellow for Sterling for moving the ball when the referee had stopped play.
🔄 65′
Enter Sterling for Broja in Chelsea, while Cairney in the Fulham ranks
⏱️ 62′
Ian Maatsen could have scored Chelsea’s third, but his shot hit the post. The rebound fell to Enzo, but Leno was on hand to turn the Argentine’s shot behind for a corner.
⏱️ 61′
Carlos Vinicius’s cross went over the goal.
🟨 57′
Carlos Vinicius is shown a yellow card for a foul on Thiago Silva. Andreas Pereira is also cautioned for protesting;
🟨 55′
Yellow for Palmer before he shot from outside the area, but Leno made a save;
🔄 53′
Double change for Fulham. Mexican Raul Jimenez and Wilson leave, Iwobi and Carlos Vinicius come in.
⏱️ 48′
Palmer’s cross is headed over the goal by Broja.
⏱️ 46′
The second half starts with a change in Chelsea. Maatsen comes in for Mudryk
HALF TIME
The first half ends with Chelsea in the lead
⏱️ 45′
Two minutes of added time to this first part;
⏱️ 40′
Fulham almost reduced the gap on the scoreboard after a set piece. Corner kick that Pereira centered and finished off by the Mexican Raól Jiménez, but the header went wide
⏱️ 37′
Palmer’s filtered ball to Broja who put in a good ball to the far post, but no one was able to finish it off.
Here are the goals scored by Mudryk and Broja
🟨 33′
Yellow card for Marc Cucurella, the first of the match after the foul on Willian.Here is the image of the tackle
⏱️ 28′
Enzo Fernandez stole the ball and Chelsea counterattacked, but the Argentinian finished the ball over the goal.
⏱️ 26′
Another Mudry arrival, but the Ukrainian’s overhead pass was caught by Leno
⚽ GOOOOAALLL
TWO CHELSEA GOALS IN JUST OVER A MINUTE.A mistake by center back Ream is recovered by Palmer who assists Borja who scores from a rebound after the Fulham defender’s attempted clearance.
⚽ GOOOOAALLL
CHELSEA GOAL. MUDRYK’S GOAL Levi Colwill’s through ball to the Ukrainian, who chested the ball past Leno to put Chelsea ahead.
⏱️ 16′
Corner kick that Andreas Pereira hangs Andreas Pereira, but Chelsea’s backline pulls it out;
⏱️ 9′
Good run by Enzo who assisted Mudryk who got in on goal and hit the target, but his shot went wide;
⏱️ 7′
Mikhail Mudryk’s ball got away from Mikhail Mudryk on the dribble. Therefore there will be a goal kick for Fulham.
⏱️ 2′
BROJA MISSES IT. Chelsea had it after a poorly defended Fulham move where the Albanian dribbled the goalkeeper, but in the definition sent the ball over the goal.
⏱️ 1′
THE MATCH BEGINS. First possession goes to Fulham
THE PLAYERS TAKE THE FIELD
The 22 protagonists are already on the pitch. The duel between the two London teams is about to start in a few minutes
After missing the season due to a knee injury, Christopher Nkunku is almost ready to make his Chelsea debut. However, Mauricio Pochettino must decide where the £52 million summer acquisition will fit into an improving team. Nkunku is expected to resume full training soon and may make his debut on Saturday against Newcastle.
His absence caused Chelsea to struggle mightily during the early part of the season, as the Frenchman scored three goals in four games during the preseason tour of the United States, around which Pochettino had built his attack.
Nkunku has returned to an improving Chelsea after eight goals in two games against Tottenham and Manchester City, but he has the ability to step up this onslaught even more.
The easiest method for Nkunku to join the club is to replace Nicolas Jackson as the centre striker.
Jackson’s hat-trick against Tottenham brought his season total of goals scored in 14 games to a respectable seven.
However, he has been uneasy in games vs weaker teams and found it difficult to be the centre of attention when the opposition lined up in a low block.
An entertaining eight-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge comes to an end with both Man City and Chelsea sharing the points after a 4-4 draw.
The game took a while to catch fire, Haaland putting City ahead in the 25th minute from the spot after being hauled down by Cucurella,
Buut Chelsea responded, levelling through Thiago Silva’s header before Sterling scored against his former team to make it 2-1 to the hosts.
Back came City, though, as an unmarked Akanji restored parity with a header in first-half added time before Haaland bundled home his second of the game to put the champions 3-2 up.
Chelsea would again answer through Jackson to make it three goals apiece, but Rodri appeared to net the winner with four minutes left, firing home via a huge deflection off Thiago Silva to put City on the verge of victory.
There would be one final twist, however, as Broja came off the bench to win a penalty after being brought down by Dias before Palmer, against the club whose academy he grew up in, stepped up to fire home from the spot and earn Chelsea a point.
The result moves Chelsea up into the top half, and they will look to continue their upturn in form away at injury-hit Newcastle United next Saturday.
City miss the chance to extend their lead at the summit to three points, and they have a huge home game with Liverpool to look forward to next weekend.
Below is the final EPL Table after Today’s Matches;
In a fascinating English Premier League game on Sunday evening, Chelsea secured a hard-fought 4-4 draw against Manchester City, thanks to a stoppage-time penalty from former City player Cole Palmer.
Chelsea’s positive start was momentarily halted when Marc Cucurella fouled Erling Haaland, who confidently converted the subsequent penalty for his 12th Premier League goal of the season. Undeterred, the Londoners struck back with Thiago Silva’s header and Raheem Sterling’s goal against his former club.
The second half continued the intense action, with Haaland scoring early on. Despite key saves from Robert Sánchez, Nicolas Jackson extended Chelsea’s lead. Rodri’s goal seemed to secure the win for Manchester City, but Rúben Dias’s late foul on Armando Broja led to a dramatic stoppage-time penalty, expertly converted by Palmer.
Chelsea’s resilience maintained their positive form under Mauricio Pochettino, having lost only one of their last eight games across all competitions.
Meanwhile, Manchester City remains unbeaten in six competitive fixtures and sits atop the Premier League table.
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