Chelsea Drama: Owner’s Shocking Demand! £43M Star Must Go After Man City Disaster – “I Don’t Pay Lazy Players” 😥 Manager’s Job On The Line

Calum McFarlane’s brief tenure as caretaker manager came to a disappointing close as Chelsea, reduced to ten men, fell to a 2-1 defeat against west London rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage.

 

The final match before incoming head coach Liam Rosenior, who watched from the stands, officially takes charge proved to be defined by Marc Cucurella’s first-half red card for a last-man foul on Harry Wilson.

 

Fulham thought they had opened the scoring through Wilson, but the goal was chalked off for a marginal offside. They eventually found the breakthrough after the restart when Raul Jimenez found the net.

 

Chelsea responded with an equalizer from Liam Delap, but their joy was short-lived as the in-form Wilson restored Fulham’s advantage. Despite their best efforts, the Blues couldn’t muster another comeback and ultimately fell to defeat.

 

Standard Sport’s Dom Smith was at Craven Cottage to assess the Chelsea players’ performances…

 

**Robert Sanchez 5**

 

Produced two commendable saves during the second half but was beaten by strikes from both Jimenez and Wilson.

 

**Malo Gusto 5**

 

Offered minimal threat in attack but delivered a solid defensive display.

 

**Trevoh Chalobah 4**

 

Handled aerial battles reasonably well but looked restricted when playing out from the back.

 

**Tosin Adarabioyo 4**

 

Chelsea have developed a troubling pattern of losing Premier League matches whenever the former Fulham defender starts. Failed to impress against his previous club.

 

**Marc Cucurella 3**

 

Completely changed the complexion of the match when he was dismissed for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity in his first game back from injury.

 

**Andrey Santos 4**

 

Became the unfortunate victim of Cucurella’s red card, being substituted shortly afterward on 28 minutes. Though he did sustain a minor knock, the withdrawal appeared tactical rather than injury-related.

 

**Moises Caicedo 5**

 

Put in a shift defensively with numerous tackles and ball recoveries, even registering a shot on goal. Unfortunately, neither he nor Chelsea enjoyed much fortune on the night.

 

**Cole Palmer 5**

 

Another muted performance, though he did produce one lovely dummy and an encouraging mazy run forward. Still doesn’t appear fully up to speed physically.

 

**Enzo Fernandez 5**

 

His opening two corners resembled shots and both caused genuine problems for Fulham. However, he subsequently lost his composure, earned a booking for protesting Cucurella’s dismissal, became less influential, and was withdrawn after an hour.

 

**Pedro Neto 4**

 

Managed a couple of wayward efforts on goal, but his decision-making throughout left much to be desired.

 

**Liam Delap 6**

 

Grabbed his first Premier League goal for Chelsea to draw the sides level on an evening where he took considerable physical punishment and otherwise struggled to make an impact. Showed tremendous work ethic throughout.

 

**Substitutes**

 

**Jorrel Hato (Santos, 28′) 5**

 

Made a reasonable impression after coming on. Not everything went according to plan, but he added valuable width at left-back, the position he was deployed in during the first half following Cucurella’s sending off.

 

**Reece James (Fernandez, 65′) 5**

 

Introduced to shore up a midfield that had been far too open, allowing excessive space to Sander Berge and particularly to the influential Wilson.

 

**Josh Acheampong (Gusto, 75′) N/A**

 

**Joao Pedro (Palmer, 75′) N/A**