Liam Rosenior was in the stands to watch his new Chelsea side drop three points against Fulham, after yet another red card.
Despite only having 45% of the ball, largely down to the one man deficit, Chelsea still managed to take 14 shots, creating three big chances and generating 1.84 xG.
Fulham on the other hand, with their 55% share of the ball, took 16 shots but failed to create a single big chance, only generating 1.35 xG of their own.
In this article, we’ll cover
Liam Rosenior coded Chelsea team
As Chelsea’s new manager watched on from the stands, the team resembled some of the ideas we can expect from the newly appointed head coach.
We saw a return to right-wing for Cole Palmer, who was flanked by Malo Gusto as an overlapping right-back, in order to provide width on the right, very much like Chelsea did in the FIFA Club World Cup final.
A midfield three was also utilised, as Andrey Santos started alongside Moises Caicedo, before being hooked off after just 28 minutes due to Marc Cucurella’s sending off.
While the red card made it tough to recognise any true changes in patterns, Chelsea once again started the game defending in a hybrid back five, looking to jump aggressively at the right moments and regain possession to kickstart attacks.
On-ball patterns are something we may have to wait a little longer to see, as Chelsea being down to 10-men massively shifted the momentum of the game, changing the game plan and forcing the Blues to resort to transition opportunities for the majority of the game.
Jimenez and Wilson duo
One of the most in-form duos in the Premier League right now, both Raul Jimenez and Harry Wilson were both on the scoresheet once more in Fulham’s 2-1 victory over Chelsea.
Before either of the goals, Wilson had a lovely goal ruled out in the first half, one that perfectly encapsulates the pairs connection, with Jimenez demonstrating some lovely shadow play at the top of the box, opening space for Wilson to attack and pop up beyond the centre-forward.
These drag and drop movements are very dynamic between the pair, with Jimenez thriving at receiving these diagonal entry passes, and Wilson perfecting his movement to get into dangerous positions to unleash a high volume of shots.
Jimenez took his goal nicely, arcing his run perfectly to attack the front post, getting ahead of Trevoh Chalobah and guiding his header past Robert Sanchez at his near post.
Wilson’s goal was also incredibly well taken, pouncing on a parried cross from Sanchez, taking his first touch over Jorrel Hato’s challenge, before hitting it with his second touch into the bottom left corner.
Chelsea disciplinary issues continue
Chelsea received their fifth red card of the season in the Premier League after just 21 games played, only one fewer than their highest ever tally of six in a single campaign.
The Blues have also totted up 47 yellow cards, sitting fourth in the Premier League in this. Disciplinarily issues have cost Chelsea massively this season, receiving early cards which have massively affected their games.
Aside from the red card in the game against Fulham, it was the reaction that followed which emphasises Chelsea’s disciplinary issue, as three players went on to receive yellow cards following the same incident.
So far, Chelsea have lost against Manchester United, Brighton and now Fulham in the Premier League after receiving red cards, dropping nine points from those three games, which many fans would class as winnable fixtures.
Marco Silva’s hot streak continues
Marco Silva’s side continue to go from strength to strength, recording their third win in their last five games, drawing the other two.
In the Premier League, Fulham have only lost twice in their last 10 matches, which has seen them propel themselves to ninth in the division, currently sitting on 31 points after 21 games.
This strong run of form now has the Cottagers sitting just two points off of the top five, giving them a platform to perhaps improve the squad in January and make a push for European football.
Only Aston Villa spent less money than Fulham in the summer window, so for Silva’s side to be achieving in this manner, it is a clear indication of the quality of job he is doing with the current squad.