Chelsea continued the positive trend in the Premier League 2018/2019 after beating Fulham 2-0 at the Stamford Bridge Stadium on Sunday (2/12). Two of Chelsea’s winning goals were scored by Pedro in the first half and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the 83rd minute.
Pedro opened the scoring for the hosts when the game had only been running for seven minutes. The Blues midfielder, N’Golo Kante shot fast into the Fulham defense and released a flat to Pedro. After controlling the ball, Pedro could outwit the Fulham defender and immediately fired hard with his left foot. The ball nested into goalkeeper Sergio Rico through the right corner.
Pedro’s goal became a historic record for Chelsea because it was their 1000th home goal in the Premier League. Chelsea became the third club to record this after Manchester United and Arsenal.
Maurizio Sarri’s landing squad appeared to dominate status as the host facing Fulham. Although mastering the ball possession, the Blues are still difficult to penetrate Fulham defense handled by new manager, Claudio Ranieri.
Starting the second half, Chelsea immediately threatened in the 47th minute. Only, this time Rico was able to anticipated off Pedro’s strike. Fulham apparently failed to develop the game. In fact, they were able to perform better towards the end of the first round. Fulham’s only best chance was when Calum Chambers managed to head the ball from the corner. However, Kepa Arrizabalaga is able to block it.
Fulham’s defense was again broken by Chelsea in the 83rd minute. The Blues were 2-0 up thanks to Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s 83rd minute goal.
He immediately opened shot in front of the penalty box after receiving a flat assist from Eden Hazard. The ball lodged into Fulham’s goal without being able to anticipated by Rico.
Loftus-Cheek was a substitute in the 57th minute replacing Kovacic.
The match ended for Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Fulham. This result brought Chelsea back to winning ways after last week’s 1-3 defeat on a trip to Tottenham Hotspur’s headquarters. The result also made Chelsea rise to second place in the Premier League 2018/2019 standings. With 31 points, Chelsea now ranked in third place behind Liverpool whose collected 36 points after win against Everton and Manchester City who are top standings with collection of 38 points.
While Fulham, who has just eight points, is still struggling at the bottom of the Premier League standings. This makes their new coach’s mission, Claudio Ranieri, to avoid being relegated increasingly heavier.
