Cole Palmer Shines in Chelsea's Thrilling Win Over Fulham
Cole Palmer walked back into the spotlight and lit up Craven Cottage, dragging Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea to a wild 3-2 win over Fulham on Monday Night Football and reminding the Premier League exactly who runs this attack.
In a game where structure went missing and chaos took over, Chelsea’s new front three of Palmer, Joao Pedro and Morgan Rogers looked devastating. All three scored. All three tormented Fulham. For long spells, they looked like the sharpest attacking unit in the league.
Palmer, finally free of the injury issues that stalked him last season and rested after missing England’s World Cup campaign, played like a man who’d had enough of questions. One goal, one assist, and a performance full of arrogance and clarity. When Sky Sports asked him afterwards how ready he was for the new season, his reply said everything: “Did you not watch the game?”
Chelsea’s statement start
The tone was set almost instantly.
After just 31 seconds, Maxence Lacroix launched a header from his own half that sliced straight through Fulham’s midfield. Palmer pounced, gliding into space and slipping in Joao Pedro, who finished to make it 1-0 before some fans had even found their seats.
Fulham staggered. Chelsea’s front three smelled blood.
The visitors could have tightened their grip, but what followed summed up the night: breathtaking attacking play undercut by defensive lapses and one goalkeeper having a nightmare.
Robert Sanchez’s horror show
With Moises Caicedo a surprise absentee, Chelsea were already light in midfield protection. They did not need their goalkeeper unravelling behind them.
Yet that is exactly what happened.
On 23 minutes, Josh King cut inside and unleashed a powerful strike at Sanchez’s near post. It was fierce but saveable. The Spaniard let it burst through him. 1-1, and Craven Cottage roared back to life.
Questions around Sanchez’s status as Chelsea’s No 1 have lingered for months. This did nothing to quiet them. And he was not finished.
At 3-1 up in the second half, Sanchez spilled a shot from Timothy Castagne straight into the path of debutant Goncalo Garcia, who gratefully tapped in to drag Fulham back to 3-2. Another soft concession. Another anxious glance towards the away end.
Alonso refused to hang his goalkeeper out to dry on Sky Sports afterwards, insisting this was “day one” and that the team had to “understand what it takes”. But the errors were glaring, and they kept Fulham alive in a game Chelsea should have killed.
Rogers announces himself
If Palmer and Joao Pedro were familiar threats, Morgan Rogers arrived like a thunderclap.
On debut, the club’s record signing timed his run to perfection just before half-time. Lacroix, again influential, bent a cross to the back post. Rogers ghosted in, completely unmarked, and swept Chelsea back in front on 41 minutes.
Fulham’s defending was shredded. Static. Passive. Rogers didn’t care. He celebrated like a player who knew this was the start of something.
Four minutes after the restart, he struck again – this time as creator. Calvin Bassey needlessly stepped up, was beaten to a flick-on by Rogers, and Joao Pedro latched onto the loose ball. The Brazilian squared for Palmer, who arrived in stride and buried Chelsea’s third on 49 minutes.
Three forwards. Three goals. One message: under Alonso, this Chelsea attack intends to run hot.
Arbeloa’s Fulham go on the front foot
This was the first real glimpse of Alvaro Arbeloa’s Fulham, and it was not shy.
They played on the front foot, committed bodies forward and went after Chelsea. They created chances. They refused to retreat, even when sliced open.
Arbeloa told Sky Sports he was “really happy and proud” of what he saw, insisting Fulham will play this way “no matter who is in front of us”. On this evidence, they will be fun, they will score – and they will leak.
Each of Chelsea’s goals came from defensive naivety: a midfield carved open in seconds, a back post runner ignored, a needless defensive step that left space in behind. The intent is clear. The discipline is not.
Yet Fulham still could have snatched something.
With Sanchez stranded miles off his line in the 78th minute, Antonee Robinson had a huge chance to lob in an equaliser. His attempted chip veered horribly wide. Craven Cottage groaned. Chelsea breathed again.
Edge, noise and needle
There was an edge to the night beyond the scoreline.
On 65 minutes, Enzo Fernandez stepped off the bench to replace Romeo Lavia and was met with loud, angry jeers from the home crowd, still stung by his antics for Argentina against England at the World Cup. Every touch was booed. Every misplaced pass cheered. The rivalry inside the stadium felt very real.
Then came a moment of concern for Chelsea. Palmer, after dictating the game, signalled to the bench that he needed to come off and pulled up mid-dribble. He was replaced by Estevao on 82 minutes. Alonso and his staff will hope it is precaution rather than a fresh setback for their talisman.
A chaotic but convincing start
For all the late anxiety and Sanchez’s errors, anything other than a Chelsea win would have felt wrong. Their front three were too sharp, their transitions too ruthless, their control in key moments too strong.
Fulham’s late push and Robinson’s miss kept the tension high, but the away end could finally exhale at full-time. Alonso’s reign begins with three points, a riotous derby, and a front line that looks ready to terrorise the division.
The defending? That can wait for the training ground.
The bigger question now is simple: if Palmer, Joao Pedro and Rogers keep playing with this kind of electricity, who is going to stop them?
