It was a third defeat of 2023 for Chelsea as they fell 2-1 to Fulham at Craven Cottage. Goals from Willian and Carlos Vinicius ensured Kalidou Koulibaly's strike was not enough for Graham Potter's side to claim any points in the west London derby.
The Blues had an opportunity to rise as high as seventh on Thursday evening but instead sit firmly in 10th and still looking for a first win of the year ahead of meeting Crystal Palace at the weekend. It was a game in which Chelsea found more success going forward on occasion but still failed to show much conviction across much of the pitch.
Loan-signing Joao Felix came straight into the starting lineup and was responsible for a lot of bright moments, challening Bernd Leno in the Cottagers goal. He was unable to find a way past his opponent however and his red card early in the second half compounded Chelsea's misery of recent weeks and months.
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It's not long until Potter's men have another opportunity to turnaround their form, but defeat in the west London derby has left another sour taste. football.london takes a look at what we learned from the loss.
The impact of Joao Felix's start
With the Portugal international having arrived at Chelsea so recently as to not make an appearance on the Fulham matchday programme, it was quite the statement to see the Blues' new signing in Graham Potter's starting XI.
"He is in a good place and has had some football as well," said Potter ahead of the game. "Physically he is ok, obviously he is in an adaptation time which is not optimal. With the quality he has, we thought it was the right decision to put him in.
"He can receive the ball, he can find space and a final pass, and he can score. In the final third he is a top player. It is a boost to see a player of that quality come in. I saw it in training yesterday, it gives everybody a lift."
While, praising a new player is pretty unremarkable, it was difficult to know whether Potter's decision said more about what Felix can offer Chelsea, or about what the head coach reckons of some of the players he decided not to choose at Craven Cottage.
Regardless, for the 58 minutes he was on the pitch, Felix did provide a boost for those connected to Chelsea. The 23-year-old provided an array of fancy flicks, the odd trick and brought some much-needed fun to watching the Blues.
The Atletico Madrid loanee showed some good combinations and increased Chelsea's creativity while getting in shooting positions, though he struggled to truly test Leno in the Fulham goal. He hit four shots on target, only fewer than Kai Havertz, Raheem Sterling, Mason Mount and Armando Broja across the whole of Chelsea's season so far in the Premier League.
The new addition served hope and a damning indictment on Chelsea's forward play before the game against Marco Silva's team but stole the joy away in the same evening. Felix's arrival was not cheap, a fee in the region of £9million in addition his salary has ensured that, and now he will miss games against Crystal Palace, Liverpool and Fulham once again.
He looked set to be a key player that left Potter true to his word, but now we'll have to wait and see.
Benoit Badiashile's chance should come soon
Potter opted for a back three formation for the first time since Chelsea's return from the World Cup and Chelsea's newest defensive signing was still confined to the bench. The 21-year-old is still acclimatising having barely had a week of training following his transfer from Monaco, but he will be hoping his chance arrives quickly.
Trevoh Chalobh, Thiago Silva and Kalidou Kouliblay comprised Chelsea's central defenders against Fulham, potentially to help facilitate a forward combination of Kai Havertz and Felix, but the backline showed little security as they conceded twice against their rivals.
Both Chalobah and Koulibaly endured difficult evenings against Fulham, with a combination of errors and a degree of inability seeing the duo exposed. The former was among Chelsea's standout players following Potter's arrival but has been intermittently used since football got back underway, while Koulibaly has started every match. Neither approach has put the duo in a position to succeed so far, and Badiashile appears he will be in line to be handed an opportunity as soon as he is up to speed.
Strikers are struggling for a place
With Chelsea 2-1 down, in need of a goal and with 10 minutes remaining on the clock, Potter made four substitutions. Carney Chukwuemeka, Hakim Ziyech, Conor Gallagher and Marc Cucurella arrived on the pitch, but striking options Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and David Datro Fofana remained on the bench.
Potter explained his decision following the match. He said: “We had a back five and felt we should go to a 4-4-1 and keep Kai on because I felt he was leading the line and winning challenges and duels. We wanted to use Hakim [Ziyech] and Carney [Chukwuemeka] to break from wide and Conor [Gallagher] to break from the centre because you know you’re going to get driven back a bit. So that was the thinking.”
While there may be some logic in Potter's thinking, it doesn't say a lot about how highly he views his striker's abilities to change a game at the moment. Aubameyang has perhaps given him little reason to do so, while 20-year-old Fofana is still fresh in the squad following his move from Molde.
Felix's swift introduction may have been telling, but that Aubameyang remained on the bench at Craven Cottage may be more revealing again.
Bleak reality
With defeat to Fulham, Chelsea moved to a record of just one win in their last nine league matches. There's no mistaking the club's current situation and the Cottagers' win ending a run of 20 Premier League matches without earning three points against their west London rivals, is telling in itself.
The Whites sit four places above Chelsea and six points clear, with the Blues currently ranked the third best team in west London. It may sound obvious that a team will have not done very well against those above them in the table, but Chelsea are yet to collect three points against any of the nine teams above them, with Fulham completing the list on Thursday evening. After 18 games, a position begins to give an accurate reflection.
It's a run of form that has seen Chelsea gather just 25 points, their fewest since 2015/16 where they finished the term in 10th after recording just 18 points at the same stage. Their total of 21 goals after the period is the fewest since 1995/96. It certainly makes for bleak reading for the club.
Defeat to Fulham however, perhaps offers a rare moment this season where the Blues have outperformed their opponents on xG in a loss. It did not feel an accomplished performance by any means however, even if the introduction of Felix seemed to lead to more chances. With almost half the season down, it's very clear Chelsea require improvement.
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