Chelsea player ratings vs Fulham: Wingers uninfluential in defeat as Cucurella sees red
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Chelsea tasted their first defeat since Enzo Maresca's departure as Fulham beat the 10-man Blues 2-1 at Craven Cottage on Wednesday.
The Blues, under caretaker Calum McFarlane, should have been high on morale after snatching away a point from Manchester City on Sunday.
Marc Cucurella's early red card in the 22nd minute, for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity, however, meant Chelsea had to play a man down for the majority of the game.
It was Chelsea's fifth red card in the Premier League this season, which is by far the highest in the league.
In addition to that, three Chelsea players, Enzo Fernandez, Tosin Adarabioyo, and Cole Palmer, got booked for arguing with referee Peter Bankes.
Ten-man Chelsea successfully held Fulham to 0-0 until half-time, having gotten away after VAR ruled out Harry Wilson's late strike, but it was clear that the hosts were closer and closer to taking the lead.
It finally happened in the 55th minute. Fulham grabbed the lead through Raul Jimenez's header.
Liam Delap levelled the score in the 72nd minute, scoring his first Premier League goal for the club, but Fulham retook the lead just nine minutes later.
Wilson found the net for the second time for Fulham, and this time, there was no VAR intervention to save the visitors.
The Blues pushed for another late equaliser, but Fulham anticipated it, dropping deep to defend their lead, and, unfortunately for Chelsea, it worked.
Here are the Chelsea player ratings following the Fulham defeat, as per SofaScore.
Starting XI
Robert Sanchez: 7.1
Malo Gusto: 6.3
Trevoh Chalobah: 6.4
Tosin Adarabioyo: 6.8
Marc Cucurella: 4.2
Andrey Santos: 6.5
Moises Caicedo: 7.0
Cole Palmer: 6.5
Enzo Fernandez: 7.3
Pedro Neto; 6.6
Liam Delap: 7.9
Substitutes
Jorrel Hato: 6.5
Reece James: 6.7
Joao Pedro: 6.3
Josh Acheampong: 6.3
Gerry Crisandy is a freelance writer who has covered Chelsea for many years. His work has been published on The Chelsea Chronicle and Pride of London. He grew up idolising Michael Ballack and is a firm believer in expected goals.