Chelsea vs Fulham Match Review and Player Ratings – Premier League 2025/26

Chelsea 2-0 Fulham

(Joao Pedro 45+9′, Enzo Fernandez 56′)

Gameweek 3 brought us a derby between two clubs situated just a mile apart, and the clash proved to be an eventful one. Both clubs knew that anything could happen in this game, but they probably did not expect the amount of drama that ensued.

Chelsea were clear favourites before the match and put in a dominant display, limiting Fulham on the attack while going forward with purpose. Standout performances from João Pedro and Moises Caicedo helped the Blues cruise to a 2-0 win, but a rocky first half saw a great deal of controversy surrounding VAR and referee Rob Jones. Teenager Josh King had the ball in the net early in the game but it was disallowed for a foul on Trevoh Chalobah in the buildup, a decision that has left many bewildered.

Chelsea vs Fulham Match Review, Summary and Tactical Review

Fulham Denied Early

The match started with Fulham on the front foot, getting a good early opportunity with Andersen curling a left-footed effort just high and wide of the top corner in the 7th minute. Iwobi then gets a good chance in the 19th minute, where he finds space on the ball, but his long-range effort was always going wide of the post. The talking point of the match came in the 21st minute when Fulham youngster Josh King scored a well-worked goal, but VAR denied the opener due to a foul in the buildup, which appeared to be accidental.

Chelsea Flurry Leads To Opening Goal

Following this decision, the game was turned on its head, and Chelsea began to ask questions of the Fulham defence. Two quick chances came in the 43rd and 45th minutes, when Tosin fired a header over the bar from a corner, then 18-year-old Estêvão made a great run past Sessegnon and Bassey to get a ball across the box, but Andersen cleared it. Chelsea then got a flurry of corners, and João Pedro headed home in the last action of the first half.

Second Half Begins With Early Chelsea Dominance

The second half got off to a flying start when only five minutes in there was a check for a penalty to Chelsea, which was given by Rob Jones for a handball on Sessegnon. After the Blues’ first goal came controversially in the ninth minute of eight in stoppage time, their second also came in this fashion with an apparent handball from João Pedro in the buildup to Sessegnon’s handball. The referee ignored this and gave the penalty anyway, which captain Enzo Fernandez smashed down the middle.

‘VAR Decides The Game’ As Chelsea Earns Quiet Victory

A rattled Marco Silva could only laugh as his side was on the wrong end of another VAR decision. Chelsea got another good chance a couple of minutes after the goal, with Estêvão cutting past Bassey again and firing a near-post shot that Leno saved well. The game stayed quiet until substitutes Jimenez and Traore linked up well, with the Spaniard firing a cross onto Jimenez’s head but he couldn’t keep it down. Berge met the ball from a corner in the 92nd minute and it looked to be going in, but João Pedro cleared it off the line, the last notable action of the game.

Tactical Review

Marco Silva managed to exploit a couple of Chelsea’s weaknesses in the game, forcing Robert Sanchez to distribute long due to their high pressing. The Fulham players also pressed the left side of Chelsea’s defence particularly intensely, clearly noting their lack of a left-footed centre-back and therefore knowing that Tosin would have to shift the ball onto his right if he wanted to distribute effectively. Josh King and Iwobi were often the players receiving the ball on the attack, Iwobi in particular found joy in the left pockets as Chelsea committed Gusto forward.

Maresca’s Chelsea did not have as much possession as usual, but they still managed to exploit Fulham well by using their attacking numbers to fill the space left by their press and playing line-breaking passes to these players. Estêvão in particular spent a lot of time in the right half spaces and managed to get past Bassey multiple times. Joao Pedro’s role in the no. 10 position was arguably Chelsea’s most important piece of the puzzle as he generated 0.66 xG by himself.

Player Ratings

Chelsea

Robert Sanchez – 6/10: Kept a clean sheet but only had to make a couple of saves, distribution was poor and gave the ball away in bad positions once or twice.

Malo Gusto – 6/10: Did not really get much time on the ball and when he did, he did not do much with it. Played a couple of decent passes and was decent defensively.

Trevoh Chalobah – 7/10: Extremely solid defensively, won 12 duels, and his passing was great.

Tosin Adorabioyo – 7/10: Partnered Chalobah very well, and his ball playing was good despite being singled out on the press. He was decent defensively, but committed a couple of fouls.

Marc Cucurella – 6/10: Was just okay, he was relieved of his attacking duties in favour of Gusto pushing forward, his only real job was containing Castagne and Tete, which he did well enough.

Moises Caicedo – 8/10: Defensive monster as usual, made a very important block in first-half stoppage time, and his passing was great.

Enzo Fernandez – 7/10: Was relatively poor in the first half but got on the ball more in the second and improved a bit, extra points for a goal and an assist.

João Pedro – 8/10: Scored a great header to put Chelsea ahead, and his overall game was very good, making a vital goal-line clearance in the second half.

Estêvão – 7/10: Made Calvin Bassey’s life difficult all game and had no issues with Ryan Sessegnon either. Also had a good opportunity after the second goal and completed the most dribbles in the game.

Pedro Neto – 6/10: Was a danger down the left but ultimately kept quieter than usual by Kenny Tete. If Delap hadn’t been forced off 14 minutes in he could have had more joy with his crosses.

Liam Delap – N/A: Unfair to rate him based on 14 minutes; however he did manage to get a good opportunity in a few minutes in which was blocked by Berge.

Tyrique George – 6/10: Did okay up front and occupied Andersen, dragging him out for Pedro to make runs but other than that was very quiet. Would have been better off playing on the left with Estêvão in the 10 and Pedro up front.

Jamie Gittens – 5/10: Barely got on the ball during his time on the pitch, did not affect the game in any way, but only played 30 minutes in a game where Enzo Maresca played conservatively.

Reece James – 6/10: Did not play many minutes but didn’t put a foot wrong and had a pop at goal late on.

Andrey Santos – 6/10: Like James, did not get enough time to affect the game but looked very sharp when he came on.

Fulham

Bernd Leno – 7/10: His goal was peppered all game and he did well, making 4 saves and not putting a foot wrong all game. Probably Fulham’s best player.

Kenny Tete – 7/10: Dealt with Pedro Neto well and won nearly all of his duels. Did not get much of an opportunity to go forward.

Joachim Andersen – 7/10: Solid defensively and dealt with Tyrique George. Was a threat from corners, and ball playing was also fantastic.

Calvin Bassey – 5/10: Spent the entire game getting spun by an 18-year-old.

Ryan Sessegnon – 4/10: Could not deal with Estêvão and gave away the penalty which led to Chelsea’s second goal.

Saša Lukić – 5/10: Having the least touches in the match while being a midfielder is poor, he created a few chances but committed 5 fouls.

Sander Berge – 6/10: Made a good block early on and nearly scored a goal in second half stoppage time, was solid defensively all game.

Timothy Castagne – 5/10: Awful all game and got subbed off 60 minutes in. He is clearly not a winger and it showed on Saturday.

Josh King – 7/10: Looked threatening whenever he got the ball and scored a great goal although it was disallowed. Was bright for the time he was on the pitch and should have had the ball played to him more.

Alex Iwobi – 6/10: Had plenty of opportunities to make things happen in the space left behind by Gusto but was ultimately unable to do so. Had a few good moments though.

Rodrigo Muniz – 4/10: Got passed between Tosin and Chalobah’s pockets all game and was unable to do anything except commit a foul which led to Fulham’s opening goal being disallowed.

Raul Jimenez – 5/10: Got into some good positions but should have scored a header late on. Had half an hour to make an impact but couldn’t.

Harry Wilson – 5/10: Had no impact when he came on and did not get on the ball much.

Antonee Robinson – 5/10: Could not get into the game and probably would have started if he wasn’t returning from injury. Could have had a big impact if he did start.

Emile Smith-Rowe – 5/10: Looked dangerous when he came on but was not as good as Josh King. Could not make an impact in the half an hour he had on the pitch.

Adama Traoré – 6/10: Came on late but had good linkup play with Jimenez, created what should have been a goal too.

Man Of The Match

Moises Caicedo (Chelsea)

The man of the match was tight between Caicedo and Pedro, but we are going to give it to Moises Caicedo. He won possession 11 times during the match, the most of any player across all Gameweek 3 matches. Without him, Chelsea would have certainly conceded.

Final Word

Maresca has likely left this match with one main takeaway – Chelsea needs a cover for Delap now. Since his injury, strikers Deivid Washington and Marc Guiu have been recalled from their loans at Santos and Sunderland respectively, providing cover in Delap’s position as he focuses on recovering from his injury. Nicolas Jackson’s impending move to Bayern was also briefly cancelled, before it went through again on deadline day.

Maresca will also know that he needs cover at left centre-back, so he may use Jorrel Hato in that position. He also has the option of promising talent Harrison Murray-Campbell in the academy, who is right footed but very comfortable on his left. It is possible now that Estêvão has cemented his starting role, impressing yet again in his second start for the Blues after replacing Cole Palmer minutes before kickoff against West Ham.

As for Marco Silva, he has made it very clear how he feels about the referee in this game. As for his team’s performance, he will know there is much to improve. With the arrivals of Kevin and Chukwueze, he will have more options on the wing and can drop Castagne. Fulham were also close to a deadline day move for Tyrique George but the move fell through after Harry Wilson to Leeds collapsed. Fulham looked better early in the game, they benefitted from early pressing and exploiting weaknesses. Both managers will take positives into the international break from this match.

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