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 spell in temporary charge concluded with disappointment as Chelsea, reduced to ten men, succumbed to a 2-1 loss against local adversaries Fulham at Craven Cottage.

 

The final fixture before incoming manager Liam Rosenior, who observed proceedings from the stands, officially assumes his role turned decisively on Marc Cucurella’s first-half dismissal for bringing down Harry Wilson as the last defender.

 

Fulham had an early Wilson strike ruled out due to a tight offside call, but eventually broke through after the interval courtesy of Raul Jimenez.

 

Chelsea drew level through Liam Delap, only to concede again to the impressive Wilson, and despite their efforts, were unable to forge another comeback, ultimately slipping to defeat.

 

Standard Sport’s Dom Smith was present at Craven Cottage to assess how the Chelsea squad performed…

 

**Robert Sanchez 5**

 

Produced a pair of solid stops in the second period but was unable to keep out efforts from Jimenez and Wilson on either side of those saves.

 

**Malo Gusto 5**

 

Provided little going forward but held his own defensively.

 

**Trevoh Chalobah 4**

 

Fairly competent aerially but showed limitations in possession.

 

**Tosin Adarabioyo 4**

 

Chelsea seem to struggle in league matches whenever the former Fulham defender features recently. Unconvincing performance against his old employers.

 

**Marc Cucurella 3**

 

Altered the entire dynamic of the match with his red card for preventing a clear scoring chance on his comeback from injury.

 

**Andrey Santos 4**

 

Became the casualty following Cucurella’s sending off, being withdrawn shortly afterward in the 28th minute. While he did pick up a minor knock during that period, the change seemed unrelated to the injury.

 

**Moises Caicedo 5**

 

Won numerous challenges and recovered the ball frequently for Chelsea, even managing an attempt on target. However, fortune didn’t favor him or his team.

 

**Cole Palmer 5**

 

Another subdued outing, aside from one excellent dummy and another promising surging run with possession. Still appears to be lacking full match fitness.

 

**Enzo Fernandez 5**

 

His first two set pieces looked more like shots and both troubled Fulham significantly. However, he then lost composure, received a yellow card for protesting Cucurella’s red, became less influential, and was substituted after sixty minutes.

 

**Pedro Neto 4**

 

Registered a few wayward attempts but his choices on the ball left much to be desired.

 

**Liam Delap 6**

 

Scored his maiden Premier League goal for Chelsea to restore parity on a night where he took plenty of physical punishment and otherwise struggled to get into the game. Put in a committed shift.

 

**Subs**

 

**Jorrel Hato (Santos, 28′) 5**

 

Made a reasonable contribution after entering the fray. Not everything came off, but he provided some width operating at left-back, the position he was introduced to occupy in the opening half following Cucurella’s expulsion.

 

**Reece James (Fernandez, 65′) 5**

 

Brought on to tighten up a midfield that had been too porous and allowed excessive room for Sander Berge and especially Wilson.

 

**Josh Acheampong (Gusto, 75′) N/A**

 

**Joao Pedro (Palmer, 75′) N/A**