Fulham v Chelsea: Unimpressive Chelsea get much needed win in West London Derby

 Hello everyone 

I hope you're well and had a good weekend. Sorry for not writing last week.I know Chelsea beat Morecambe in the FA Cup to go to the 4th round, where they'll face Luton Town at home this coming Sunday and a fifth round tie awaits against either Barnsley or Norwich City in February. Now I could talk about how the Blues dominated the match despite making lots of changes to the team. It was great to see Werner and Havertz on the score sheet as well as Mount. These are players who had not scored in a while so this was a confidence booster for the 2 German signings still finding their feet in English football. Hopefully they can continue to improve in the coming weeks and months with the gaffer's help.

Now to focus on Saturday's match at Craven Cottage against The Cottagers, who were in a good form after getting points against the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham, so Chelsea had to be extra careful. Of course its been 15 years since they last won a game against Chelsea in the league. Frank Lampard's men came into the game at the back of a 3-1 mauling at the hands of Man City the  week before so confidence was low but a win was needed to catch up with the top 4, while Scott Parker's men are fightning for survival.

As usual Chelsea dominated the match and created lots of chances but Fulham stood firm. Mind you this was a Chelsea team without Kanté (suspended and injured) and Reece James ,who was only fit enough for the bench. So Jorginho got a rare start along with Kovacic and Mount in midfield. Giroud was the focal point with Ziyech and Pulisic providing the crosses. Zouma was replaced by Rudiger and reliable stalwart Azpilicueta continued as right back.

The game changed towards the end of the first half when Antonee Robinson viciously tackled the Chelsea captain therefore receiving his marching orders. The second half saw Chelsea continue their domination with the numerical advantage but Fulham defended resolutely until 12 minutes from time when Mason Mount scored a beauty of a goal,winning the 3 points for the Blues, which leaves them in 7th place, 5 points from 4th place, currently occupied by Liverpool.

This may not have been the best Chelsea performance but they got a much needed win after 3 defeats on the road in December. Next up is Leicester City at King Power Stadium who are flying high in the league. This will be a stern test for Frank Lampard's men. If Jamie Vardy plays then there's no chance for the Blues but if he isn't passed as fit tomorrow, then maybe Chelsea can scrap a win but they'll have to be defensively disciplined and play on the counter.

So that was the game in a nutshell. The aim now is to catch up to Spurs and fight for 4th place while hoping that our rivals drop points. After Leicester its Luton in the FA Cup so now is the time to build some momentum.

Thank you so much for reading my articles and as always if you want to discuss all things football, feel free to contact me on social media.

Have a great week ahead and take care

Ciao

PS In case you missed the game, here are the highlights. 

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