Fulham fell two places below Chelsea in the Premier League table despite starting the day three spots above them, as they were defeated 2-0 by the Blues at Craven Cottage.
Two goals in two minutes, scored by Mykhailo Mudryk and Armando Broja, meant Fulham had a mountain to climb after just 20 minutes of action on Monday night.
Despite an improved second-half display in which they kept possession much better, their first-half defensive errors cost them dearly as Chelsea held on for victory.
Dom Smith was at Craven Cottage to rate the Fulham players’ performances.
Fulham ratings
Bernd Leno — 5
Beaten by two quick-fire Chelsea goals, and way, way too slow to distribute the ball once Chelsea were leading.
Timothy Castagne — 5
His attacking qualities are never in doubt, no matter which flank he is stationed on, but got nowhere near close enough to Levi Colwill as he crossed for Mudryk to give Chelsea the lead.
Issa Diop — 5
Mistimed his leap as Chelsea profited to score the opener, and was positionally poor.
Tim Ream — 4
The second goal was entirely Ream’s fault. He kicked the ball straight at Cole Palmer, then booted it against Broja and in when lucky to get it back. Poor.
Antonee Robinson — 5
Was too easily pressed into making errors. An excellent left-back, but not one of his better performances.
Harrison Reed — 6
As good as any Fulham player in midfield. Not at fault for this defeat, and his passing remained crisp and accurate throughout.
Joao Palhinha — 6
Industrious as always, but crowded out by Chelsea’s high-intensity midfield.
Harry Wilson — 6
Played positively, and was unlucky to be hauled off with just nine minutes of the second half played.
Andreas Pereira — 5
Tried to get Fulham moving, but was bullied off the ball and lost it too often. Booked.
Willian — 6
Fulham’s brightest attacker on a pretty dark day for them. Had a few nice dribbles but no luck against his former club.
Raul Jimenez — 5
Held the ball up well again, but still the wait goes on for his first Fulham goal. Replaced on 53 minutes.
Subs
Carlos Vinicius (Jimenez, 53’) — 6
Got very involved in the match as Fulham improved in the second half, without threatening to score.
Alex Iwobi (Wilson, 54’) — 7
Fulham’s best player on the night came off the bench — perhaps that says it all.
Tom Cairney (Reed, 65’) — 6
Impactful when brought into the fray, nearly assisting Lukic who struck at Robert Sanchez.
Sasa Lukic (Pereira, 75’) — N/A
Subs not used: Rodak, Bassey, Ballo-Toure, Lukic, De Cordova-Reid, Muniz
