Fulham vs. Chelsea

Sorry for saying the name of the other team in Fulham in the thread title Hatter Don. Fulham plays them on Wednesday at the Cottage with kickoff at 2:30pm EST on Peacock.

I never get to see the matches when Fulham gets a result against Chelsea. As of now, I'll be able to watch this one, so a loss is likely - sorry everyone. Fulham should feel encouraged after a very good showing against Liverpool that felt like a win, and probably should have been a win. Meanwhile the neighbors are a mess with an interim manager running the squad and no wins in the past four league matches. Former Fulham defender Liam Rosenior has been appointed as their new manager, but he won't make his first appearance in the dugout until the weekend.

I keep waiting for Fulham to fall to pieces, but it hasn't happened yet. Cuenca, Smith-Rowe, Wilson, and even Kevin to a degree, have stepped up their performance to help Fulham bring in points during a difficult period. The same players will be out as against Liverpool with the possible exception of Sessegnon. I expect Fulham to go with a back five again since it seems to play to the strengths of the available squad.

The most disappointing thing about this match is that King will not be available. After he was robbed by VAR of a goal in August at Stamford Bridge, I really wanted him to have a chance to stick it to them again. Sadly we'll probably have to wait until next season for that unless something happens in the FA Cup.

 

Fulham does go with a back five again and Sessegnon makes the bench.

The starting XI (which for once, I totally agree with!)
Leno
Castagne, Diop, Andersen, Cuenca, Robinson
Berge, Cairney
Wilson, Raul, Smith-Rowe

Subs: Lecomte, Reed, Kevin, Sessegnon, Lukic, Traore, Kusi-Asare, Amissah, Ridgeon

 

Banana!!!!!

 

Ok. When everyone is healthy, how do we get Sess, Jedi, King, Cairney and ESR on the field at the same time?

And Kevin. He works his butt off and will score and produce assists as the season progresses.

Fulham!

 

Cue It James!!!!

 

I finally got to witness Fulham not lose to Chelsea! Whoo hoo!!

What a fascinating match to watch. Before the red card Fulham was holding their own against Chelsea's pressing, but just barely. It felt like a mistake from Fulham was inevitable. Then there were those really dangerous corners being dropped on Leno's head. It was just a matter of time before Chelsea broke through.

Then Leno and Wilson hook up to turn the tables on Chelsea and Cucurella commits a dumb foul. It was ridiculous that he even acted like he had done nothing wrong. I would have liked a PK, but I think putting it outside the box was probably the right call.

Down a man Chelsea couldn't press anymore, but then Fulham's back five felt out of place. Seeing Fulham try to play with a man advantage in that formation felt similar to trying to run with only one shoe on. It is just out of balance. I did worry at this point that 10 v 11 probably suited Delap and he did almost get a short handed goal in the first half (EDIT, my memory was wrong, that moment was in the second half ). With that, and those early corners that should have gone in, Fulham was lucky to get to the half at 0-0.

I thought Silva would wait until the 75th minute to bring in subs so I was thrilled that he brought on Kevin at the half. Fulham looked much more fluid at the start of the second half. I thought this was Kevin's best performance since his debut. He looked even better once Sessegnon came on. If only that one shot had been six inches to the right!

I've been a fan of Berge this season, and tonight was probably my favorite performance from him so far. For a tall guy he's actually really good with the ball at his feet and seemed to be able to glide through the Chelsea defense. He then put in that ball Raul was able to latch onto and place perfectly in the corner. I'm not familar with that particular celebration, is that the Salmon Dance? Whatever it was, I loved it.

My only complaint is the way Fulham sat back after that point. A goal from Chelsea felt inevitable and Delap delivered after a poor header from Robinson.

But then Harry Wilson shows us he can score with his right foot! It didn't make the highlights, but early in the game Wilson had a great chance that for some reason he took with his right rather than his left and it tamely went into Sanchez's arms. In the second half though Wilson put his right foot through the ball and despite a deflection that took off some of the power he still found the net. He deserved it because he played well all night and his finish that was undone by Raul's offside was also excellent.

Awesome night for Fulham! I never, ever, imagined that Fulham would have zero losses in five league games without the Nigerian crew. Top half and even on points with Chelsea, what a great run they've got going.

 

It’s nice to be able to look back now and enjoy the match. I was filled with dread the entire time watching it. I knew Fulham had the personnel and skills to beat ten man Chelsea but somewhere deep down I guess I felt it wasn’t going to happen. As always, I’m overjoyed that my pessimism lost out.

The mid week matches subside until Feb 11 so I’m hoping that everyone gets some quality rest over the next few weeks.

 

I was absolutely cringing just waiting for Raul to dislocate his shoulder. I enjoyed it on replay.