Fulham 1-2 Chelsea: Full player ratings – did Kepa recover from early mistake?

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Kepa Arrizabalaga was brought back into the side as Chelsea ran out 2-1 winners against Scott Parker’s struggling Fulham side at Craven Cottage this afternoon.

Gonzalo Higuain opened the scoring in the opening quarter of the match with a well-placed shot into the back of the Fulham net. Poor marking from a corner allowed Arsenal loanee Calum Chambers to equalise for the Cottagers.

Not long after, Chelsea were back in front. A perfectly placed strike from Jorginho put Maurizio Sarri’s side 2-1 up. Into the second half, Fulham grew into the game and had a few half chances but were unable to get that equaliser.

They thought they had grabbed the leveller in the last minute but Ryan Sessegnon’s strike was ruled out for offside.

The win lifts further pressure off of Sarri with his side now just two points off fourth-placed Manchester United and five behind third-placed Tottenham Hotspur. It also means they have won two London derbies this week.

For Fulham, despite a decent performance in Parker’s first match in charge of the club, their stay in the Premier League seems to be almost over with his side 10 points adrift in the relegation zone with just nine games to play.

Here are the player ratings from Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Fulham.

Fulham

Sergio Rico – 6 – Could do nothing about either of Chelsea’s opening goals. Saved well from Hazard and Higuain before half-time.

Denis Odoi – 6 – Did well to block Emerson which allowed Chambers to score for Fulham. Looked strong against a Chelsea attack constantly on the move, Odoi got in a few decent blocks to limit Chelsea’s shots/crosses towards goal.

Håvard Nordtveit – 6 – An assured performance by the former Hammer who had enough cover to aid in his duties marking Higuain. The striker beat him on a few occasions though so not a perfect afternoon’s work by Nordtveit.

Tim Ream – 6 – Ream had a fairly decent game but looked off the pace for both of Chelsea’s goals. Didn’t follow the run of Higuain for Chelsea’s opening goal. Tried to close down Jorginho’s goal but couldn’t get close enough.

Joe Bryan – 7 – Got forward for Parker’s men but at times struggled against the pace and creativity of Willian. Had a shot well-saved by Kepa and provided more of an attacking threat with Fulham chasing an equaliser.

Calum Chambers – 7 – Grabbed the equaliser for Fulham with a well-taken strike following a corner. Too much room was given to Chambers but he still did very well to put his shot beyond Kepa. Looked strong, direct and mobile at the heart of Fulham’s line-up. Booked.

Kevin McDonald – 6 – Provided decent cover alongside Chambers but couldn’t always keep up with the pace and one-touch movement of the Chelsea attack. Booked. Subbed for Anguissa.

Ryan Babel – 6 – Started bright but began to fade as Chelsea dominated possession. Got more lively in the second half but ultimately didn’t make too much of a difference. Subbed for Ayite.

Tom Cairney – 7 – Did relatively well to balance his defensive duties alongside pushing forward. Had a few half chances and caused the Chelsea defensive a few headaches with some excellent passing. Subbed for Vietto.

Ryan Sessegnon – 7 – Thurst back into the side by Parker, Sessegnon took some time to grow into the match, looking more threatening in the second half. Ran at Emerson and broke the offside trap a few times, just needed better delivery on occasions. Had a last-minute goal correctly ruled out for offside.

Aleksandar Mitrovic – 6 – Had a good volley well-saved by Kepa. Had little to feed off throughout the match but could have worked harder and produced more in an effort to get on the scoresheet for Fulham.

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Substitutions

Andre-Frank Anguissa – 6 – On for McDonald, Anguissa didn’t provide to much of a change to Fulham’s performance.

Floyd Ayite – 6  – On for Babel, Ayite couldn’t put his stamp on the match as the hosts fell to a 2-1 defeat.

Luciano Vietto – 6 – On for Cairney, Vietto was barely noticeable for the final few minutes and didn’t contribute anything of any true value.

Chelsea

Kepa Arrizabalaga – 8 – Perhaps lucky to be back in the side so soon but also extremely lucky not to drop a clanger in the first half. Made great saves from Mitrovic (twice) and Bryan to make up for it. Kepa kept Chelsea ahead and produced a great performance on his return to action.

Cesar Azpilicueta – 7 – Great cross for Higuain to score in the opening 20 minutes. Looked organised at the back and looked like the leader we know he can be with his marshalling of Chelsea’s backline.

Antonio Rüdiger – 7 – A man mountain at the back for Chelsea, Rudiger’s mere presence seemed to dampen Mitrovic’s involvement, forcing Fulham’s attacking play out onto the wings.

Andreas Christensen – 6 – In for the dropped David Luiz, worked well with Rudiger to keep Mitrovic quiet and ensure his side left Craven Cottage with all three points. Good performance.

Emerson – 6 – Is looking like a man who doesn’t want to lose his place in the side. Provided good defensive cover alongside attacking support for Hazard. Had more of a test in the second half against Sessegnon but coped for the most part. He is showing Marcos Alonso how it’s done.

N’Golo Kanté – 7 – His usual self in the middle of the park, constantly biting at the heels of Fulham’s midfielders whilst pushing forward to create havoc in the final third.

Jorginho – 8 – A classy strike from the Italian on the edge of the Fulham area, giving Rico no chance. His first goal for Chelsea in open play. His passing served more purpose this afternoon but he was replaced with 20 minutes to play. Great performance from Jorginho. Booked.

Ross Barkley – 6 – Always wanted the ball at his feet and although some passes went a little astray, generally looked positive on the ball. Subbed for Loftus-Cheek.

Willian – 7 – Lively up and down the right-wing, played a part in both of Chelsea’s goals in the first half. Had less of an effect as the game progressed but had already influenced the game.

Gonzalo Higuaín – 7 – Managed to grab his third goal for the club with a tidy finish in the first half. It was great movement from the forward to get on the end of the cross. Missed a big chance after breaking the offside trap.

Eden Hazard – 7 – Assisted Jorginho in his goal, becoming only the third Chelsea player to score and assist more than 50 times each. Decent chance saved by Rico. Looked lively, had a few times one-on-one with the Fulham defence but couldn’t produce lethal results. Subbed for Pedro.

Substitutions

Mateo Kovacic – 6 – On for Jorginho, Kovacic did his best to help Chelsea see out the game.

Pedro – 6 – On for Hazard, Pedro was quiet and didn’t have an impact with the Blues doing their best to see out the game.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 6 – On for Barkley, Loftus-Cheek looked dangerous and got into the Fulham box a few times, causing them to worry at times.

The post Fulham 1-2 Chelsea: Full player ratings – did Kepa recover from early mistake? appeared first on Squawka News.



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