Pedro's early goal and a late strike from Ruben Loftus-Cheek saw Chelsea earn an unconvincing 2-0 win over Premier League bottom club Fulham.
Pedro struck after four minutes but the Blues' performance lacked fluidity and they were relieved when substitute Loftus-Cheek struck eight minutes from time.
The performance of floundering Fulham, still with just one away point this season, illustrated the size of the task facing Claudio Ranieri.
Standard Sport's Giuseppe Muro was at Stamford Bridge to assess the key talking points...
Kante sends message to Sarri
It took N’Golo Kante just four minutes to respond to the criticism he received from Maurizio Sarri this week. Sarri said that Kante is not technically good enough to play in central midfield in his system at Chelsea and the France international sent a message to his manager when he pinched the ball in the middle, drove at the Fulham penalty area and slipped in Pedro to put Chelsea ahead. Kante had a good game and it is still surprising that Sarri has moved him from the position that he has excelled in recent seasons for Leicester, Chelsea and France.
Ruben's reminder
Ruben Loftus-Cheek gave Maurizio Sarri another reminder of what he can bring to the Chelsea side when he came off the bench to score the goal that put the game to put. Loftus-Cheek came on after 67 minutes and had a real impact. He added some dynamism to the Chelsea midfield and took his goal well. Loftus-Cheek’s opportunities have been limited this season and he will surely be pushing for a loan move in January unless he plays more. But Sarri cannot keep ignoring his good performances when he does get an opportunity.
Chelsea bounce back from Spurs loss
Chelsea got back on track after their defeat at Tottenham but they struggled for long periods against Fulham and Maurizio Sarri is still searching for the best formula for his midfield. Jorginho again played as the deepest midfielder with Matteo Kovacic and Kante in front of him, and Chelsea were not convincing in the middle. Sarri stuck with that system - bringing on Ruben Loftus-Cheek for Kovacic - in the second half and seems reluctant to move away from his favoured formation. But Chelsea laboured for most of the game and they will need to play better than this at Wolves on Wednesday and then against Manchester City next Saturday.
Ranieri needs another Kante
Claudio Ranieri was reunited with N’Golo Kante and what the Italian would do to have a player like him at Fulham. Jean Michael Seri struggled in front of the back four and Ranieri was fuming when his mistake gifted Chelsea and early opener. Calum Chambers did well in the middle but Fulham lack a player in the mould of Kante. The France international was crucial to the way Leicester played under Ranieri but Fulham do not have anyone who can fulfil his role at Craven Cottage.
