Chelsea strike early and hold on in London derby

Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea tenure began with a 3-2 derby victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage, where the Blues’ new front three delivered on their debut.

Chelsea got off to a winning start under Alonso as goals from Joao Pedro, Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer clinched the win over local rivals Fulham. Palmer and Joao Pedro both scored and assisted at Craven Cottage, where Chelsea hit the front after just 31 seconds.

Joao Pedro was played in by Palmer and calmly dispatched over Bernd Leno, bringing up Chelsea’s quickest Premier League goal since 2016 and the earliest ever goal scored by a team in their opening game of a Premier League campaign. It was also Chelsea’s fastest Premier League goal since October 2016.

Fulham fightback and Chelsea respond

Fulham showed plenty of bite in Alvaro Arbeloa’s first league game at the helm, and Josh King hauled them level in the 23rd minute. The leveller owed much to an error from Robert Sanchez, who got down to King’s attempt but made a mess of his save.

It was a difficult day for Sanchez in general, with Chelsea’s goalkeeper looking nervy throughout. Maxence Lacroix showed skill befitting of a top-tier forward to tee up Rogers, who slammed in his first Chelsea goal four minutes before half-time.

Rogers then played a part in Chelsea’s third early in the second half, flicking it on for Joao Pedro, who held the play up brilliantly to tee up Palmer, with the playmaker sending a crisp finish under Leno.

Fulham pulled one back in the 54th minute when Gonzalo Garcia marked his Premier League bow with a goal. Garcia’s header into an empty net came after Rogers and Palmer had put Chelsea 3-1 up, with Sanchez having parried Timothy Castagne’s shot back out into the danger area.

Sanchez was fortunate to get away with dismal positioning when Antonee Robinson latched onto a punt over the top of the Blues’ defence, only to put his lob wide. Fulham’s best late chance fell to Rodrigo Muniz, whose long-range strike was saved with the final kick of the game, just after Joao Pedro had seen a strike disallowed for offside.

Alonso hails ‘special’ attack

Alonso took time to applaud Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers for creating “special things” during the opening-day win.

“It is a great combination and great quality. We know that if we put them in a good position, then they have this talent to create special things,” Alonso told Sky Sports. “Today I am happy that today all three scored. I really enjoyed his [Palmer] performance. He played with responsibility and maturity, but also freedom. It is really important to me that we get the best out of Cole. I am happy for him and if we are going to have a good team, then we need a great Cole.”

Alonso added: “The early goal helped to gain confidence. I think we had a few chances to score the second one before their equaliser, but we were quite stable. We were quite comfortable even without the ball and were a threat. The three strikers were combining well and creating chances and, at the end, to know that to win games away you need to roll your sleeves up and fight and defend your goal.”

Chelsea started their Premier League season with a win for the first time since 2022-23, while Alonso became the first Chelsea manager to see the Blues score three goals in his first top-flight game in charge since Maurizio Sarri in August 2018.

Palmer and Rogers impress

Palmer endured a difficult season by his lofty standards in 2025-26 and missed out on a place in England’s World Cup squad, but he was scintillating here. His pass through to Joao Pedro for the opener was sublime, and his finish for the Blues’ third was cool and collected.

“Did you not watch the game? I’m only joking, I’m ready, you know,” Palmer said when asked how ready he was for the new campaign. “It was a difficult season with injuries and whatnot, but throughout the summer and since I’ve been back, I’ve worked extra hard. Obviously, with the injuries, I’ve had to try and prevent them and work extra hard day in, day out. I know the talent I’ve got so I can put in performances like that.”

Rogers, the most expensive British player in history at £117m, became the first player to score on his Premier League debut for Chelsea in more than a year. He was also the first Blues player to create five chances on his Premier League debut for the club on record.

“Everyone knows how good he is,” Rogers said of Palmer. “Obviously, he had a difficult season with injuries and stuff last year, and you could see in his eyes in pre-season and training that he’s ready to prove people wrong. You saw that with that performance – the best player on the pitch by a mile and that’s what he does. It’s good to have him on our side.”

Arbeloa rues costly errors

Alvaro Arbeloa was left to rue costly mistakes by his Fulham team as his Premier League debut ended in defeat.

“We concede goals in the first minute, the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half and there are no worse moments to concede,” Arbeloa conceded. “But we showed character and personality, and I am very proud of how my players responded.”

“We deserved a little bit more, but football is not about what you deserve, it is about what you take. If you lose against a team like Chelsea, they [should] have to do a little bit more. For me, they are easy goals for them and mistakes we cannot make. We need to improve and be more ready in the first minute, that is for sure.”

Arbeloa found positives in his young side, with Garcia and King among those to impress. Garcia joined from Real Madrid this summer and marked his Premier League bow with a goal.

“I believe in them and I believe in young players. I think they have the energy and ambition I want, and they fit in the way I play. Josh King is absolutely amazing,” Arbeloa added. “What a player you have here, and I am really happy with him. Gonzalo [Garcia] scored. I think they need a bit more time, but they are doing great and making an impact already.”