After recent FA Cup and EFL Cup matches, the Premier League resumed play with the widely anticipated match between Chelsea and Fulham at Stamford Bridge, which served as the big-signing debut in English soccer history. Enzo Fernandez made his start as a starter for Graham Potter’s starting XI after being formally presented the day after Deadline Day.
Also starting was Ziyech, who recently left Paris Saint-Germain. In 15 Premier League games, Potter has now made 64 changes to the starting lineup.
On the other hand, Neeskens Kebano is out for Fulham due to injury, but the major news was Sasa Lukic’s debut, another acquisition acquired in the frantic last hours of Deadline Day.
At first, Chelsea and Fulham displayed strong play.
The first half saw brilliant plays from both teams, with the Blues having the better chances. In the 20th minute, Havertz, who is one on one with Leno, receives a beautiful pass from Thiago Silva over the top for a goal. German goalkeeper Leno made a save with his legs after the German attempted a first-touch volley.
Fernandez throws the ball to Mount, who controls it and curls a cross into Havertz at the far post in another fantastic play. Ream deflects the ball, but Kai Havertz was unable to keep control of it and squandered the opportunity.
Also on the verge of scoring was Fulham after Pereira unleashed a strong shot from about 30 yards out that Kepa miraculously parried by diving low. Tete outruns Cucurrella and finds Willian at the back of the defense with a cross just before halftime. Badiashile makes the Brazilian commit the error and stops the goal.
Enzo Fernández: The Blues’ outstanding first-half debut is supported by the numbers.
According to statistics, even with the score being zero in the first half, Enzo Fernández was the player that stood out and performed up to expectations the most.
Among all Chelsea players, the new addition to the squad ranked first in five separate categories, including touches (59), recoveries (9), tackles (4), duels won (7/8), and passes in the opposing team’s camp (15).
Fulham repels the Blues with an effective midfield structure.
After the break, Chelsea took a while to pick up the pace again, and Fulham had a golden opportunity when Willian found Pereira in space and fed him, but his effort was blocked.
When it did get closer, the Blues should have taken advantage of it after Enzo Fernandez got space outside the area and fired a long shot that barely missed the post on his Premier League debut.
Chelsea attempted to attack, but Fulham’s defensive organization won out for the remainder of the second half as they exchanged numerous passes in the attacking half without producing any shots that were on goal.
Even though Chelsea much improved in the second half, Fulham’s four-defender midfield marking (two wingers and two defenders) was enough to give them a heroic fight at Stanford Bridge.