Palmer shines as Chelsea edge Fulham in thriller
Cole Palmer produced a sensational performance to lead Chelsea to a hard-fought 3-2 win over Fulham to begin the Xabi Alonso era with victory at Craven Cottage on Monday.
The Blues were without influential midfielder Moises Caicedo and new signing, Marco Palestra also missed out on the game due to injuries.
Another new signing, Morgan Rogers started alongside João Pedro and Palmer in attack.
João Pedro quickly opened the scoring for Chelsea after 31 seconds with a lobbed finish over Bernd Leno from a Cole Palmer assist to make it 1-0.
Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez fumbled in Josh King’s effort to allow Fulham back into the game in the 22nd minute.
Palmer was also involved in Rogers second goal after he showed a flash of skill to release the ball to Lacroix, who assisted Rogers to blast home for 2-1 in the 41st minute.
Palmer turned goalscorer when he finished off a João Pedro’s assist with a sublime close range finish, four minutes after the restart.
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Gonzalo Garcia reduced the deficit for Fulham in the 54th minute.
Chelsea survived an onslaught from Fulham to seal a vital 3-2 win to ensure a victorious start for Xabi Alonso.
The Blues will return to action against Luton Town in the EFL Cup on Thursday while Wimbledon on the same day.
Top Stats From Fulham vs Chelsea
Morgan Rogers has became the first Chelsea player to create five chances on his Premier League debut for the club on record since 2003-04.
Cole Palmer tonight vs Fulham:
1 goal
1 assist
5 dribbles completed
5 shots
3 chances created
7 ball recoveries
10 duels won
He was only the second player on record since 2006-07 to record all of these numbers in a Premier League game.
Timed at 31 seconds, João Pedro has scored the quickest ever goal on MD1 in a Premier League season.
At an average age of 24 years and 43 days, Chelsea have named the youngest starting XI of any Premier League side on MD1 this season.
