Chelsea Undone by Discipline Again as Fulham Capitalise on Cucurella Red Card

Chelsea’s persistent disciplinary problems once again proved costly as they were beaten 2-1 by Fulham at Craven Cottage, with Marc Cucurella’s first-half dismissal leaving the visitors to play most of the match with 10 men.

Incoming head coach Liam Rosenior, who officially takes charge on Thursday, watched from the stands as his new side unravel. Fulham goals from Raul Jimenez and Harry Wilson secured the points, either side of Liam Delap’s second-half equaliser, but the decisive moment came midway through the opening half.

The match had begun evenly, with Wilson testing Robert Sanchez twice early on before Chelsea went close themselves when Enzo Fernandez’s corner ricocheted off Andrey Santos and struck the crossbar. However, the contest turned dramatically after 20 minutes.

Cucurella appeared to have the situation under control as he chased a long ball alongside Wilson, but the Fulham midfielder cleverly gained position. The Chelsea defender responded by tugging Wilson’s arm, sending him to the turf. Despite arguments that Tosin Adarabioyo was covering, the referee deemed it a clear denial of a goalscoring opportunity and produced a red card.

It marked Chelsea’s seventh sending-off of the season and the third time they had been reduced to 10 men before half-time in the league — a worrying trend for Rosenior as he prepares to take over. Of equal concern was the reaction, with three Chelsea players booked for dissent during the aftermath.

Fulham pressed their numerical advantage. Emile Smith Rowe came close with a powerful effort from distance that skimmed just over the bar, while Wilson briefly thought he had opened the scoring with a low drive before VAR ruled it out for a marginal offside.

Chelsea’s defensive reshuffle saw Jorrel Hato introduced, and the youngster briefly offered a threat at the other end by glancing a header over from a corner. Moments later, Fulham struck.

Jimenez timed his movement perfectly to stay onside, drifting away from Trevoh Chalobah before guiding Sander Berge’s cross into the bottom corner to give the hosts a deserved lead.

The goal visibly unsettled Chelsea. Playing with 10 men and under constant pressure from the home crowd, they struggled for composure. Fulham continued to probe, with Kevin forcing Sanchez into action with a fierce long-range effort that flew narrowly wide.

Despite the adversity, Chelsea showed some resilience after the break. Bernd Leno was forced into a fine save to deny Delap, who battled tirelessly despite being isolated for long spells. The striker’s persistence was eventually rewarded.

With 18 minutes remaining, Antonee Robinson inadvertently headed a corner against his own crossbar, and Delap reacted quickest to smash home his first league goal, briefly restoring parity.

Any hope of salvaging a point was short-lived. Wilson produced a clever piece of skill to wrong-foot Hato before firing past Sanchez to restore Fulham’s lead and secure victory.

As Rosenior prepares to begin his tenure, Chelsea’s lack of discipline and game management will be chief among the issues he must address — though their response in adversity at least offered a small measure of encouragement.