Chelsea 0-0 Fulham: Enzo Fernandez and Noni Madueke make debuts but Graham Potter’s side are held

Money can go a long way, but it doesn’t guarantee Premier League victories.

Hoping after the conclusion of their spectacular January spree, that frustrating nights like this would be a thing of the past and a Chelsea charge up the table would begin.

That was not to be his first post-window outing even though Chelsea had a lot more to throw at Fulham than they did a few weeks ago.

They then met at Craven Cottage on a punishing night as the misfortune of the Graham Potter era was summed up with the loan signing of Joao Félix making an impressive debut before being sent off and Chelsea falling to defeat.

Felix was unavailable for last night’s return as he served the last game of his suspension.

But there were plenty of other new faces for Chelsea. They started with the British record grab of £107m Enzo Fernandez, £88m Mykhailo Mudryk and £35m Benoit Badiashile.

Other newcomers, £31m winger Noni Madueke and then £8m David Datro Fofana came off the bench.

None of the quintet starred in the first match between both sides. But still, Chelsea couldn’t break Marco Silva’s impressive Fulham.

This was not what co-owners Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali and the other members of Chelsea’s newly formed recruiting team would have expected to see after embarking on a record-breaking spree.

The ‘what a waste of money’ taunts coming from the opposite end with increasing frequency as this eventual stalemate wore on was almost inevitable.

Graham Potter’s picks had already caused a stir long before kick-off following the Champions League omission of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who unsurprisingly also failed to feature against Fulham.

Then there was more intrigue in the evening as to which of Chelsea’s newer faces would make their team to take on neighbors Fulham.

Fernández’s work permit arrived in time to start and he was handed a full debut alongside Mykhailo Mudryk following the Ukrainian winger’s encouraging cameo from the bench in Liverpool last time out.

Reece James, in top form, also felt like a new signing and seeing him back in the side and Ben Chilwell in the dugout after injuries that have been hurting Chelsea’s progress was just as pleasing.

Hakim Ziyech was there from the start too despite being about to move to Paris Saint-Germain on deadline day which he was unimpressed to see collapse.

Fulham were without any of their signings at the deadline, Cedric Soares and Sasa Lukic, but did welcome talismanic striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Stamford Bridge were expectant and Fernández, starting from the base of Chelsea’s midfield, certainly did not disappoint.

Showed an uncanny knack for being in the right place at the right time when the ball was released, was eager to get his foot in, rarely lost any of the many challenges he got himself into, took responsibility for getting Chelsea on underway and passed impressively. both long and short and sometimes with real intent.

It helped a fast-paced first half, albeit with few goal attempts until Andreas Pereira unleashed a volley that Kepa Arrizabalaga deflected over the goal.

Chelsea responded with two deflected shots from Kai Havertz, who was not having the kind of convincing night required after being among the attackers to get the nod on Aubameyang.

The first of those chances was lost down the stretch after Fernández released Mason Mount with an overhead ball.

Another forward ball from the Argentine broke through the Fulham defense and sent Ziyech wide, but he cut wide with his weaker right foot.

Having missed on his first two attempts, Havertz was unlucky on his third, latching on to a delicious ball over the top of Ziyech but hitting the post.

Mudryk was not having the impact that he had at Anfield or Fernández. It doesn’t matter. Chelsea had another big money signing to launch. In his place came Noni Madueke in the second part.

At first, however, it was a former Chelsea winger who caused the most concern as Willian drove into the corner of the box and fired towards goal, forcing Kepa to save.

Fulham was doing the best they could. That really shouldn’t have come as a surprise with the table confirming them as the best team in West London today.

The confidence with which they played at the home of their wealthy neighbors was befitting that status.

It came down to a bold trick from Joao Palhinha that wasn’t what you’d expect from a midfield enforcer and led to Pereira blocking a shot before Palhinha joined the attack to fire over the top.

Chelsea were struggling to break through at the other end, but Potter was not short of options and Raheem Sterling was the latest attacking change made in the Chelsea head coach’s attempts to take control of the game.

But it was Fulham who came closest to scoring, Willian running down the left and crossing to De-Cordova Reid, whose shot was saved by Kepa.

The Chelsea goalkeeper then had to be alert to prevent Mitrovic from hitting him from inside the Chelsea pitch.

Fernández wasn’t having quite the same influence in the second half, but he came as close as anyone in Chelsea Blue to breaking the deadlock with a long-range effort that whipped just past Bernd Leno and his far post.

Fofana was next to join Chelsea’s quest for a winner and the crowd was on their feet anticipating him beating Leno in style, dodging Issa Diop and looking certain to score.

But Tim Ream came to Fulham’s rescue with a goal-line clearance, summing up Fulham’s determination to keep out Chelsea, who managed to pick up a deserved point.