Fulham 0-2 Chelsea: Mykhailo Mudryk scores first Blues goal as Mauricio Pochettino’s side beat rivals

Mykhailo Mudryk’s first goal for Chelsea helped Mauricio Pochettino’s side to their first Premier League win since August when they beat west London rivals Fulham 2-0 at Craven Cottage.

Mudryk brilliantly grabbed his goal in the 18th minute, controlling Levi Colwill’s cross onto his chest and finding the back of the net for the first time since arriving from Shakhtar Donetsk in January.

Chelsea had not scored in the Premier League since beating Luton on August 25, but their second came almost immediately. Armando Broja bundled the ball into the net after Tim Ream’s tackle just 20 seconds after the restart in his first start in 11 months.

Chelsea defended resolutely as Fulham tried to muster a response in the second half, but their evening was not without negatives as goalscorers Mudryk and Broja were both withdrawn with apparent injury problems before Moises Caicedo limped off in stoppage time.

Pochettino downplayed injury concerns afterwards, instead rejoicing in a victory that moves Chelsea up to 11th in the table and could serve as a turning point after their poor start to the season. Fulham, meanwhile, remain 13th.

How Chelsea claimed the overdue victory

Chelsea came into the match without eleven players due to injury or suspension and also had to drop Raheem Sterling to the bench due to a virus, but they started well and soon got their reward.

Mudryk had had a difficult start to the match, dribbling a ball out of play and firing a wild shot over, but he got his goal in superb fashion, taking Colwill’s left cross on his chest and sending a low finish through the legs by Bernd Leno. .

Fulham’s defense was poor for the opener, but it was even worse for Chelsea’s second, with Cole Palmer able to cut out Ream’s late pass and feed Broja, while Ream’s attempted recovery tackle then bounced off the Chelsea striker into the net .

Fulham took four points from their west London rivals last season but never really seemed to get anything out of the game after that double setback, with Chelsea repeatedly cutting through them in a one-sided first half, with Conor Gallagher the star performer.

The hosts showed some improvement after the break, creating half-chances for substitutes Alex Iwobi and Carlos Vinicius, but they only managed to create one clear chance and when they did, Robert Sanchez was level.

The ball came from Sasa Lukic, another substitute, when he fired a close-range effort too close to the Chelsea goalkeeper, who made a fine reflex save to preserve his side’s clean sheet.

Earlier in the half, Chelsea had spurned a chance to add a third, with substitute Ian Maatsen hitting the post after Broja’s cutback and Leno tackling Enzo Fernandez’s cutback.

A third goal would have added some luster to the result, but it was nevertheless a satisfying evening for the Blues – even with more potential injuries on the long list.

The story of the match

Poch greets Mudryk and plays down the fear of injuries

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino told Air sports: “It’s important for us to build our confidence in ourselves. The performance was very good, I’m so happy for the players and in the end we got what we deserved.”

Speaking about Mudryk’s first goal for the club, he said: “It’s very important for attacking players to score a goal. He did well. He was unlucky at half-time, he felt something in his quad, but hopefully it’s not big problem.” and he will be ready for the weekend. I’m so happy for both (the goalscorers)”

When asked again about Mudryk’s progress during his press conference, he said: “It’s about maturity and adaptation. We need to understand that all young people need time to settle down.

“It was a huge change for him when he arrived here. When you come into a team it is not easy to settle because, to be honest, too many young players have come into a team that is not solid.

“They are not the icing on the cake. They have to add to the team to build something important, which is difficult, but it’s about being patient, about trusting these guys.

“It’s a huge job, it’s step by step, very short steps. Sometimes people don’t have patience, but for us it’s about being patient. Even if we didn’t win, we stayed calm and positive.”

Regarding Caicedo’s apparent injury, he said: “Caicedo has a contusion (a bruise). We hope it’s nothing. He was tired, but it’s a bruise.”

Silva: The sloppy and passive first half cost us

Fulham boss Marco Silva: “Disappointing result for us. At times also in terms of performance. They started intensely from the first moment and won some individual challenges that gave the boost they needed.

“Our first half wasn’t aggressive enough, both on and off the ball. We were sloppy in some moments. We didn’t bring the dynamics we should have. Even our first pressing didn’t work that well.

“We were too passive in the way we reacted to Colwill’s cross (for the first goal) and then we were punished 30 seconds later by another mistake from ourselves.

“That created a different scenario for us and a perfect scenario for Chelsea. They were much more confident at that moment. Our second half was better, but we didn’t score our chances.”

What’s next?

Fulham’s next match is a Premier League match against Sheffield United at Craven Cottage on Saturday October 7; starting at 3 p.m.

Meanwhile, Chelsea faces Burnley, also on Saturday, October 7; starting at 3 p.m.

Chelsea ends a barren run – Opta statistics

• Chelsea had failed to score on any of their previous 47 Premier League attempts before Mykhailo Mudryk’s opener, with just 82 seconds separating his strike from Armando Broja’s.
• Chelsea have defeated a side that started the day above them in the Premier League for the first time since May 2021 (a 2-1 win against third-placed Leicester after starting the day itself in fourth), ending ended their 18-game winless streak against such opposition. in the competition (D5 L13).
• Mykhailo Mudryk scored his first goal for Chelsea in all competitions (24th appearance and with his 22nd goal attempt) and became the first Ukrainian goalscorer for Blues since Andriy Shevchenko against Bolton in May 2008.