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Fulham have really impressed – Potter
Chelsea return to action following a two week break as they host Fulham in the Premier League tonight following a record-breaking January transfer window.
The Blues broke the British transfer record to Enzo Fernandez on deadline and take their spending over £300m for the month with Mykhailo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke, Malo Gusto, Andrey Santos and David Datro Fofana also moving to Stamford Bridge.
Manager Graham Potter must now come up with a solution to fit all of his new incomings into the team and help Chelsea improve on their current 10th place standing in the table. Fulham come into this West London derby sitting above the Blues in the table and the Cottagers have good memories of this clash having won the reverse fixture 2-1 earlier this month.
Marco Silva will be hoping to repeat that result having also strengthened his squad in January with the signings of midfielder Sasa Lukic and Arsenal right-back Cedric Soares who moves to Craven Cottage on a loan deal.
Follow all the action as Chelsea host Fulham at Stamford Bridge:
Half-time: Chelsea 0-0 Fulham
45+1 mins: The whistle goes for half-time with the teams all square. Fulham have put in a decent performance and have created a few good chances.
Chelsea have dominated possession and every now and then their individual quality has shone through to put the Cottagers under real pressure.
No breakthroughs though. All the play for in the second half.
Michael Jones3 February 2023 20:49
Chelsea 0-0 Fulham
44 mins: Off the post! Brilliant play from Chelsea here. Hakim Ziyech – who hasn’t had the best night – receives the ball in the middle of the pitch and flicks it over the top.
Kai Havertz sprints in behind Kenny Tete and carries the ball into the box. Bernd Leno comes out to close him down and Havertz chips the goalkeeper from a tight angle.
The ball looks to be dropping into the back of the night but hits the left-hand post and bounces away!
Michael Jones3 February 2023 20:46
Chelsea 0-0 Fulham
40 mins: Chelsea have had a lot of possession but they’ve not done much with it. The best chances of the half have come to Fulham with Andreas Pereira forcing Kepa into a save and Willian picking the wrong option with a header.
Marco Silva will be pleased with his team’s effort.
Michael Jones3 February 2023 20:43
Chelsea 0-0 Fulham
36 mins: Oh no! Kenny Tete makes fabulous run down the right wing and breezes past Enzo Fernandez. Marc Cucurella is nowhere to be seen which allows Tete to hook the ball into the far side of the penalty area.
Willian arrives and is wide open. He’s got a free header but instead of going for goal knocks it back across to Aleksandar Mitrovic. Mitrovic isn’t expecting the ball and has his back to goal.
He tries to force it in but gets swarmed ad Chelsea clear the danger.
Michael Jones3 February 2023 20:38
Chelsea 0-0 Fulham
33 mins: Close! Chelsea break and pick out Mason Mount in space. He carries the ball into the left side of the box and quickly squares it over towards Kai Havertz.
Tim Ream sticks out a leg and gets a slight deflection which moves the ball away from Havertz and causes him to lift it over the crossbar!
Michael Jones3 February 2023 20:33
Chelsea 0-0 Fulham
30 mins: Some of the pre-match talk was about how Thiago Silva would deal with crosses coming in towards Aleksandar Mitrovic. Fulham have had more success – and have scored more goals – than any other team in the Premier League from crosses this season.
So far, Thiago Silva has won every ball. He’s just a top quality centre-back isn’t he?
Michael Jones3 February 2023 20:32
Chelsea 0-0 Fulham
27 mins: Save! Fulham sweep down the right and get the ball to Joao Palhinha. He spins and slips the ball inside to Andreas Pereira just inside the penalty area.
He controls the ball and shoots on the turn, striking a wonderful effort at goal. Kepa Arrizabalaga spies it early and leaps to his right, getting a strong hand to the ball and pushing it wide of the post.
Michael Jones3 February 2023 20:26
Chelsea 0-0 Fulham
24 mins: Hakim Ziyech swings a corner ball into the middle of the box for Chelsea but Tim Ream gets up early and nods the ball away.
It drops to Conor Gallagher who guides it back over to Ziyech but he’s flagged offside.
Michael Jones3 February 2023 20:25
Chelsea 0-0 Fulham
21 mins: Close! Fulham almost find a way through with a finely weighted pass up to Aleksandar Mitrovic. The forward doesn’t gather the ball correctly though and can’t kick on in behind the Chelsea defence.
Instead Thiago Silva and Benoit Badiashile close him down and recover the ball for the home side.
Michael Jones3 February 2023 20:22
Chelsea 0-0 Fulham
18 mins: Fulham are nicely drilled in defensive and are keeping their shape compact moving across the pitch as one unit. It’s tricky for Chelsea to break down.
They resort to giving the ball to Thiago Silva. He flicks a long ball over the top and picks out Kai Havertz who turns it towards goal only to be denied by Bernd Leno.
The offside flag goes up so it wouldn’t have counted anyway.
Michael Jones3 February 2023 20:21
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