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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Samuel Meade

Joao Felix sent off for horror tackle on Kenny Tete less than hour into Chelsea debut

Joao Felix has been sent-off less than an hour into his Chelsea debut against Fulham.

The Portuguese star has just joined on loan from Atletico Madrid this week and was thrown straight into the starting XI by Graham Potter. However the forward has been shown a straight red at Craven Cottage for a reckless high lunge on Kenny Tete.

Felix started in attack alongside Kai Havertz with the Blues in desperate need of a spark in the final third as they look to get their season on track. However the loanee took a poor touch, which surrendered possession, and then compounded his error with a high tackle.

The Fulham players immediately smothered the referee, who took a minute to mull over the decision, before brandishing a red card. Felix will now miss three games which further adds to Potter's woes with the injury list continuing to grow at Stamford Bridge.

The red card came with the contest still firmly in the balance. Fulham currently have the west London bragging rights due to their league position and took the lead thanks to former Blue Willian. Chelsea came out in the second 45 and quickly levelled thanks to Kalidou Koulibaly's close range strike, the hosts then retook the lead thanks to Carlos Vinicius' header.

The new arrival was thrown straight into the mix at Craven Cottage (BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)

Chelsea have spent just shy of £10m to acquire Felix on loan, whilst also paying his wages, but will now have to make do without him for a brief period. Potter had already spoken about what the new arrival could add.

He said: "He's a quality player. He can make a difference in the final third. He is young but has a lot of really good experience. He's a quality player that brings everyone a lift."

Felix had said on his move: "Chelsea is one of the great teams in the world and I hope to help the team reach their objectives, so I am very, very happy to be here and very excited to play at Stamford Bridge."

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