Fulham 2-3 Chelsea Player Ratings

PLAYER RATINGS

Fulham 2-3 Chelsea: Player Ratings

A majestic Palmer and a commanding Lacroix lead the way as the Alonso era opens with a win — but there was rough with the smooth at Craven Cottage.

Xabi Alonso's Chelsea reign got up and running with a five-goal thriller in west London, and while the front three grabbed the headlines, there was plenty to chew over across the XI. Here's how we rated the Blues.

SÁNCHEZ 5.5

A difficult night for the No.1. He'll want the King goal back — beaten at his near post by a strike he really should be keeping out. Beyond that, he too often looked in two minds, hesitant over his decisions when composure was needed. Question marks over his place won't go away after this one.

ACHEAMPONG 7.1

Plenty to admire from the young defender. He showed excellent awareness in his defensive work, stepped out with the ball to break lines and was physically strong — more than one Fulham player simply bounced off him. His confidence playing out from the back caught the eye, even if it occasionally tipped into being over-ambitious. The one blemish was his positioning for Antonee Robinson's run in behind, which led to the left-back's lobbed effort (mercifully off target).

LACROIX 8.0

Utterly commanding. He marshalled the back line, was imperious playing on the last line and repeatedly shut up shop before danger could take hold — winning his aerial duels and reading the game to make timely interceptions. And it wasn't just defending: his confident underlapping run and delivery teed up Morgan Rogers for our second. A complete centre-half display.

COLWILL 6.3

A bit rusty on his return. There were moments of quality — moving the ball quickly to get us up the pitch — but defensively there were lapses. The yellow card was poor and avoidable, he didn't always spread wide enough to be an option in possession, and his understanding alongside Hato down the left needs work. He'll need time to grow into the demands of the wide centre-back role.

HATO 6.2

Still finding his feet. At times he wasn't proactive enough out of possession, sitting a touch too passive and allowing Fulham to generate joy down his flank. He and Colwill are clearly still learning one another's game — that left-sided partnership is a work in progress, and it'll come with minutes.

LAVIA 6.4

A mixed bag from the Belgian. The reckless challenge on Bassey earned a poor early yellow, and he did well to keep his discipline and avoid a second. On the ball he helped the game tick over, keeping it on the deck and offering passing angles, and chipped in with a couple of key passes to release runners. There's plenty more to come from him.

JAMES (c) 6.6

A quiet evening from the skipper by his standards. He didn't win a tackle all night, but read the game well to intercept, adding two clearances and four recoveries to his ledger. Where he can offer more is in his distribution — he didn't open the game up as often as he'd like from that role.

GUSTO 6.4

Busy and willing, forever offering himself on third-man runs even if he wasn't always picked out. When he did get on the ball he flashed a few dangerous deliveries across the box. That said, a fair chunk of Fulham's threat came down his side, so it wasn't a flawless shift going the other way.

ROGERS 7.8

What a debut. He took his goal with real confidence, wrapping his instep over the ball to finish, and was a constant creative threat — a remarkable five key passes, regularly slipping runners in behind. The strength and skill to roll two Fulham men before being fouled summed up a dangerous first outing. The one black mark: the lapse in concentration for Fulham's opener, when he switched off and failed to track his runner.

JOÃO PEDRO 7.5

On the scoresheet inside the opening minute and the perfect foil for this Chelsea attack. He dropped deep to combine with Palmer and Rogers, drifted wide and ran the channels willingly all night. His awareness and precision to pick out Palmer with a run from the halfway line was top class — and his scoring streak under Alonso rolls on.

PALMER 8.5

The best player on the pitch, and the Palmer we remember. He had the most shots of any Chelsea player and was involved in everything that mattered — a goal, an assist and a pre-assist, the last of those a gorgeous through-ball to release Lacroix. Given the freedom by Alonso to drift wide, drop deeper and get on the ball, he was majestic, dictating the tempo at his own pace and taking advantage of the movement around him to send others through. He could have had more had he backed his right foot or shot earlier, but this was a reminder of exactly what he offers at his best.

Man of the match:Cole Palmer — back to his brilliant best, and the difference-maker on Alonso's opening night.

Up next:Luton Town at the Bridge, Thursday, Carabao Cup. Keep it BlueLionsFC.