Chelsea Collapse Again as Fulham Punish 10 Men at Craven Cottage

Rosenior watches familiar problems unfold

Incoming head coach Liam Rosenior had a clear view of his new job from the stands as Chelsea lost 2-1 to rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage. Reduced to 10 men before half-time, the Blues once again paid the price for poor discipline and costly mistakes.

Raúl Jiménez and Harry Wilson scored for Fulham, either side of a second-half equaliser from Liam Delap. But the match was defined by another Chelsea red card, with Marc Cucurella dismissed for denying a clear goalscoring chance.

Red card turns the game

The game had started evenly. Wilson tested Robert Sánchez early, while Chelsea came close when Enzo Fernández’s corner bounced off Andrey Santos and against the crossbar.

After 20 minutes, everything changed. Cucurella appeared to be recovering as he chased Wilson, but a pull on the Fulham midfielder’s arm sent him to the ground. Despite Chelsea protests and claims that Tosin Adarabioyo was covering, the referee showed a straight red card.

It was Chelsea’s seventh red card of the season and the third time they had gone down to 10 men in the first half of a league game.

Fulham take control

Fulham began to make their extra man count. Emile Smith Rowe went close with a long-range effort before Wilson thought he had scored, only for VAR to rule it out for offside.

Chelsea briefly threatened through a Jorrel Hato header, but Fulham struck moments later. Jiménez timed his run perfectly and nodded Sander Berge’s cross into the corner to give the hosts the lead.

With nerves creeping in, Chelsea struggled to cope with the pressure as the home crowd sensed blood.

Delap gives brief hope

One positive for Rosenior was the response after the break. Despite being isolated, Liam Delap worked tirelessly and forced Bernd Leno into a smart save.

His reward came 18 minutes from time. Antonee Robinson headed a corner against his own crossbar and Delap reacted quickest to smash home his first league goal and level the score.

Wilson delivers the killer blow

Any optimism was short-lived. Wilson produced a moment of quality, deceiving Hato with a clever feint before firing past Sánchez to restore Fulham’s lead.

Chelsea could not find another response. For Rosenior, who officially starts work on Thursday, this was a clear warning. Discipline, resilience and composure are problems that need fixing fast.