It began with a subtle flick from Moisés Caicedo, the midfielder’s touch just deceptive enough to unbalance Fulham. Into added time at Craven Cottage and Chelsea, who had finally thrown off the shackles after equalising through Tyrique George, seemed to have remembered they can play football. Inhibited no more, their quality took over as they moved down the right, Enzo Fernández and Cole Palmer swapping passes before the ball came to Pedro Neto to round things off with a finish that left no room for any debate.
These are the moments that turn seasons, perhaps even save jobs. For long spells this was the same old story from Chelsea. Creating little, they trailed 1-0 early on and no doubt would have faced a torrent of abuse from the away end had Fulham clung on to their slender advantage.
Yet credit goes to Enzo Maresca for making the tweaks that altered the flow of this west London derby, pushing Fulham back and providing Chelsea with the foundations to stage a comeback that could prove vital in their push for Champions League qualification.
Maresca, who is not exactly popular with supporters at the moment, earned his moment of catharsis. He took decisive action at half‑time, Jadon Sancho and Malo Gusto impressive after coming on, and was rewarded for trusting his instincts when he modified his attack by replacing his only target man, Nicolas Jackson, with a 19-year-old winger with 12 minutes left.
At that stage Maresca’s prediction that Chelsea would have no chance of finishing in the top five unless Jackson and Palmer rediscover their poise in front of goal looked spot on. Yet whatever George lacks in size and experience is more than made up for by his willing and speed around the box. The academy product soon grabbed his first goal at this level, finishing with authority, and Maresca’s desire for others to accept responsibility when Palmer and Jackson misfire was answered by Neto’s rocket.
The head coach, who was booked for his celebrations after the second goal, smiled and expressed relief at unlikely inspiration not coming from Marc Cucurella for once. “A must‑win game,” said Maresca, who added that Christopher Nkunku was left out of the squad for technical reasons. “It is a nice feeling to win at the end. It was a good for the players. They deserved to celebrate with the fans.”
Chelsea had plenty to prove after underwhelming home performances against Ipswich and Legia Warsaw. Earning their first away win in the league since December required them to pass a test of character and physicality in the end. Fulham, on the other hand, seemed to lose their nerve as they closed in on their first double over Chelsea. Marco Silva admitted that his side dropped too deep during the second half, leaving them unable to hold on to a win that would have strengthened their European qualification push.
The early signs were unpromising for the visitors. Fulham were quick and purposeful, whereas Chelsea were skittish and slow out of the traps. Various duels unfolded and many were dominated by someone in white, whether it was Raúl Jiménez unsettling Maresca’s centre-backs or Sander Berge and Sasa Lukic going toe to toe with Fernández and Caicedo. Ryan Sessegnon constantly ran at Cucurella on the right.
Chelsea responded with some vague attacking patterns, many of them designed around attempting to isolate Neto against Kenny Tete on the left. Incision was lacking. Only Neto looked dangerous, fizzing in one cross that just evaded Jackson.
Fulham led after 20 minutes, pouncing when Reece James took too long to release the ball after striding out of defence. Sessegnon hustled Chelsea’s captain and found Alex Iwobi, who had time to set himself and drill a low shot past Robert Sánchez.
Chelsea looked brittle. Fulham could have extended their lead, Berge fluffing a free header from a corner. It was the last real threat from the hosts. Chelsea were sturdier and more intense after the break. Sancho was lively in place of the insipid Noni Madueke; Gusto, who later went off with a hamstring injury, offered more drive than James at right-back. Caicedo grabbed hold of the midfield battle.
Jackson set up Neto, who had shifted to the right, but the winger shot at Bernd Leno. Palmer, whose influence grew, missed from a tight angle. He has not scored for 16 games.
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No matter. Jackson went off and George made his mark in the 83rd minute, firing past Leno from 20 yards after Fulham failed to deal with Neto’s knockdown from a long diagonal ball. Chelsea believed. The celebrations were wild when Neto took Fernández’s pass, spun and blasted home.
Chelsea had done what Fulham did to them at Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day. It could make the difference in their quest for Champions League football.
