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Sports Illustrated

Sport

Ewan Ross-Murray

Chelsea Player Ratings vs. Fulham: Cucurella Sent Off in Fiery West London Derby

Chelsea Fulham Marc Cucurella Harry Wilson Liam Rosenior Raúl Jiménez Calum McFarlane Liam Delap London West London (Geopolitical Entity)

Ten-man Chelsea stumbled to a 2–1 defeat in their west London derby at Fulham as their winless run was extended to five matches in the Premier League.

Chelsea interim boss Calum McFarlane patrolled the technical area for the final time as new manager Liam Rosenior watched on from the Craven Cottage stands, but neither will have been impressed by Marc Cucurella’s 22nd-minute red card for a last-man foul.

VAR was Chelsea’s saviour in the dying embers of the first half as Harry Wilson’s strike was ruled out for a narrow offside, but there was no denying Raúl Jiménez shortly after half time as he headed home the opening goal of the game.

Liam Delap brought Chelsea level as they looked to salvage a point from difficult circumstances, but Wilson provided the winning goal for Fulham late in the day as the Blues lost more ground in the race for Champions League qualification.

Chelsea Player Ratings (4-2-3-1)

Marc Cucurella is sent off for Chelsea at Fulham — Cucurella picked up his second Chelsea red card. | Adrian Dennis/AFPGetty Images

*Player ratings provided by FotMob*

GK: Robert Sánchez—6.1: Rarely tested throughout the first half but should have probably done better with Jiménez’s opener, having got a hand to the header.

RB: Malo Gusto—6.5: Struggled at times with the endeavour of half-time substitute Kevin but generally conducted himself well under waves of Fulham pressure.

CB: Trevoh Chalobah—6.2: Beaten by Jiménez for the striker’s header but wasn’t afraid to commit his body to the cause, racking up an impressive number of interventions.

CB: Tosin Adarabioyo—6.2: Didn’t do much wrong in defence as he was booed upon every touch on his return to his former team.

LB: Marc Cucurella—5.4: Despite the ferocious objections of his teammates, Cucurella can have few complaints about his sending off. Pulled Wilson to the ground as last man and gave Peter Bankes no choice but to reach for red.

DM: Andrey Santos—6.8: Struck the crossbar as the ball bounced off his shoulder on the goal-line from a corner and performed his defensive duties admirably before being sacrificed following Cucurella’s dismissal.

DM: Moisés Caicedo—6.9: Found life difficult in the engine room as he was forced to cover even more ground than usual. Typically combative in the challenge when required, though.

RW: Cole Palmer—6.0: While not his most influential game, he made a positive impact in the final third after the break following an underwhelming start to the match.

AM: Enzo Fernández—6.7: Produced some excellent deliveries from corners that caused chaos inside the Fulham six-yard box. Less influential from open play, however, and was withdrawn with 25 minutes to spare.

LW: Pedro Neto—6.6: Offered some much-needed speed on the counter attack, although he struggled to make the most of several promising breakaways. Neto’s testing corner did create the equaliser, though.

ST: Liam Delap—7.9: Shielded the ball impressively despite being isolated in the final third and returned to the scoresheet with a poacher’s finish in the box. Should have ended the game with a brace, having missed a great chance earlier on.

Substitute	Rating
Jorrel Hato (28’ for Santos)	7.0
Reece James (65’ for Fernández)	6.5
Josh Acheampong (75’ for Gusto)	6.4
João Pedro (75’ for Palmer)	5.8

Subs not used: Filip Jörgensen (GK), Josh Acheampong, Wesley Fofana, Alejandro Garnacho, Estêvão, Jamie Gittens, João Pedro.

Fulham (3-4-2-1)

Starting XI: Bernd Leno; Issa Diop, Joachim Andersen, Jorge Cuenca; Timothy Castagne, Sander Berge, Tom Cairney, Antonee Robinson; Emile Smith Rowe, Harry Wilson; Raúl Jiménez.

Subs used: Kevin, Sasa Lukić, Ryan Sessegnon, Harrison Reed, Adama Traoré.

Player of the Match: Sander Berge (Fulham)

Chelsea Player of the Match: Liam Delap

Fulham 2–1 Chelsea: How It Unfolded at Craven Cottage

Liam at Craven Cottage. 🤝💙#CFC | #FULCHE pic.twitter.com/d7qX94NMoy
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 7, 2026

Discourse around Chelsea has been entirely focussed on off-field events in recent days but attention turned back to the pitch at Craven Cottage as the Blues sought to end their four-game winless run. However, Cucurella’s red card at the midpoint of the first half gave Chelsea a mountain to climb.

Having seen Santos strike the crossbar and Caicedo’s subsequent effort cleared off the line, a familiar lack of discipline proved costly for the Blues just several minutes later. Cucurella hauled the lively Wilson to the ground as the Welshman raced through on goal and he was unsurprisingly dismissed for denying a goalscoring opportunity.

Chelsea were arguably fortunate to concede only a free kick and not a penalty for the incident, which occurred right on the edge of the area, but three Chelsea players still earned bookings for their protestations in the aftermath. A fifth Premier League red card of the season for the Blues handed impetus to the hosts.

Fulham thought they had made the most of their numerical advantage during first-half stoppage time as Wilson caressed a clinical effort into the bottom corner, but an offside in the build-up offered Chelsea a much-needed reprieve following VAR’s intervention.

Marc Cucurella is sent off against Fulham for denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity 🟥 pic.twitter.com/lB3FMwSGCG
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 7, 2026

Chelsea sunk even deeper into their own third after the break, intent on soaking up pressure and hurting their hosts on the counter attack, but the Blues’ resistance was broken just 10 minutes into the second period. Jiménez expertly matched Sander Berge’s teasing delivery, powering his header into the near post to undo Chelsea’s game plan.

Delap should have provided an equaliser as Chelsea made a rare foray forward shortly after the hour mark, the striker powering his way to goal after a delightful dummy from Palmer, but Bernd Leno’s sprawling frame rebuffed the summer recruit’s dinked effort. However, he would make no mistake with his second opening of the game.

Chelsea turned up the heat as they pushed for their leveller, Caicedo and Palmer both forcing Leno into admittedly routine saves, but Delap would eventually pop up with the second goal at Craven Cottage. The forward reacted quickest at a corner as Antonee Robinson’s attempted clearance struck the back post, firing home the rebound as his former Hull City manager Rosenior celebrated in the stands.

But those celebrations would be short-lived as Fulham restored their lead nine minutes from time, with nothing able to prevent Wilson from finally etching his name on to the scoresheet. The in-form forward’s deflected effort found its way into the bottom corner, condemning Chelsea to their sixth league defeat of the season.