That’s your lot, then. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
Thomas Tuchel talks. “It was a very important win. I am very proud. Between two big semi-finals it is so hard to be full on, and we knew that Fulham gives everybody a hard time. They make you under-perform, work hard and suffer, and you can not get confused by the table. That’s why I have the highest respect for what we did today. It was a tough one, but a very important win, and the best situation to arrive before Wednesday. We were spot on. We had no lack of concentration and that was the key point. Kai Havertz scored two decisive goals for us and was involved with Timo Werner. A very good performance and that’s the way he should be. I was happy with Billy Gilmour, he does not need to convince me, he did very well and has the quality to play for us.” He also relays some good news: he expects to have a full squad to pick from on Wednesday night.
Scott Parker talks to Sky, and categorically refuses to throw in the towel. “We’ve not got a positive result, but I got attitude, desire and a performance as well. We managed to put our stamp on the game. My team were front-foot, they were aggressive and showed quality, but just fell short in certain moments. I always felt we were in the game. We had energy and bravery. I was very pleased. Four wins, it can be done if we perform like that. For sure I believe. That’s what we have to do. We have a chance of beating Burnley. We have a chance of beating Southampton. We have a chance of beating Man United and then Newcastle. I think we can do it. This is the challenge of the Premier League for a team like us. I understand the numbers and how everyone may see it, but anyone watching that game will have seen a dynamic team trying to win the game. I know we can win four games. We have to win four games. Everyone will be laughing at their screens listening to me talk, thinking I am living in cuckoo land. Maybe I am, I get that. But until that curtain comes down, let’s see.”
Some managerial patter to come ... but in the meantime, here’s David Hytner’s match report.
The excellent Kai Havertz, who has given Thomas Tuchel a decision to make for the second leg of their Champions League semi against Real Madrid, talks to Sky. “We have to come in the top four, that is our goal, and this win is crucial. Now on Wednesday we have another tough game, but we are very happy with the win. For me it is always good to score and I am very happy to help the team with the goals. I hope I can continue on Wednesday like this. We have a lot of quality players. I am very lucky that they help me today. It is very hard, you have to concentrate every three days on another game, another competition, we have been going for nine months now. But that’s the reason we are professionals, and we have to be professional. It’s hard but we are very happy to play in these competitions, it’s fun. I am always desperate to start games, but I know we have a lot of quality players and the other players in the last few matches did very good.”
FULL TIME: Chelsea 2-0 Fulham
Nothing comes of the free kick, but it doesn’t really matter. The whistle goes. Chelsea haven’t yet secured Champions League football for next season, but it’s very close. Fulham haven’t been relegated yet ... but that’s very close as well. Scott Parker shakes Thomas Tuchel’s hand with the air of a man who knows the jig is up.
90 min +4: Werner drives down the middle of the park. As he reaches the box, Aina cynically clips him to the ground. A yellow card, as there were covering defenders, and it’s just outside the area, so it’s only a free kick. Werner, who has played well today, deserved a better fate.
90 min +3: Fulham ping a few triangles, but don’t really go anywhere.
90 min +2: Mendy is fine to continue.
90 min +1: Young Carvalho latches onto a loose ball on the edge of the Chelsea box, and nearly jinks into space for a shot. He overruns it, allowing Mendy to smother. Mendy takes a whack on the head for his trouble, and is down getting attention.
90 min: There will be four extra minutes. Fulham are cutting it fine for this three-goal salvo.
88 min: Sky Sports co-commentator Alan Smith gives Kai Havertz the man-of-the-match award.
Updated
87 min: Robinson forced Mendy into tipping over early doors. Late on, he tries to work the keeper again, but this long-distance shot flies harmlessly over the bar.
85 min: Another Fulham corner, another non-event, Mitrovic and Adarabioyo getting in each other’s way.
83 min: A late three-goal salvo for Fulham would be quite the story, not least because, as mentioned earlier, they haven’t won here since a 2-1 victory in March 1964, with Bobby Robson in their team. “That was the only time they have ever won at the Bridge in the top flight,” writes Peter Nockolds. “It was the first game I ever saw. Talking of Bobby Robson, he once said: ‘What is a club in any case? Not the buildings or the directors or the people who are paid to represent it. It’s not the television contracts, get-out clauses, marketing departments or executive boxes. It’s the noise, the passion, the feeling of belonging, the pride in your city. It’s a small boy clambering up stadium steps for the very first time, gripping his father’s hand, gawping at that hallowed stretch of turf beneath him and, without being able to do a thing about it, falling in love.’ I was only nine. Fortunately for me, my schoolmate and his father were Chelsea fans, so I became one too.”
Updated
81 min: Chilwell is replaced by Alonso, while Maja makes way for Mitrovic.
79 min: Fulham make a double change, replacing Cavaleiro and Lemina with Onomah and 18-year-old winger Fabio Carvalho, making his debut.
77 min: There’s not too much going on. An advert for a chain of hotels pops up. “Get the Chelsea treatment.” But what is Chelsea treatment? Do they give you a sticky bun? A smile? Is this some sort of threat?
75 min: Mount is replaced by Abraham, making a rare appearance under Tuchel.
73 min: Zouma beckenbauers his way down the middle, then finds Mount, who combines crisply with Havertz down the right to release James into the box. James reaches the byline and looks for Werner in the middle. He can’t quite find him, and Areola smothers. Lovely move, though.
71 min: Mount is up and about again after some care and attention. Lemina offers an apology, which is gracefully accepted.
69 min: Lemina nudges into Mount as he rises for a header. Mount lands awkwardly. He’s either winded himself, or taken a whack on the coccyx. Better than a whack on the front tail, but painful nonetheless.
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67 min: Lookman undercooks yet another corner. Fulham have had their chances to apply some pressure to Chelsea, only to pass up pretty much every single one.
66 min: Nobody is within 20 yards of Ziyech. He falls over and kicks the ball out of play in one smooth slapstick move. What a way to end his day’s work, because when he gets up, he spots his number on the board. He trudges off sadly, Kante coming on to take his place.
64 min: Chelsea continue to stroke it around.
62 min: Havertz brings Chilwell’s long ball down gracefully and enters the box. He can’t quite get his shot away, and the flag goes up for offside in any case. Had he scored, I’d say there was a fair chance the goal would have stood, because he didn’t look offside. Then again, what good is the naked eye when it’s up against VAR’s amazing rulers of pedantry?
61 min: Fulham win another corner. Fulham waste another corner. Mendy plucks Lookman’s high hoick out of the sky.
60 min: Werner sashays in from the left and nearly releases Havertz. Fine build-up play, though the door quickly slams shut. No chance to complete that hat-trick yet.
58 min: Fulham are giving it their best, though. Robinson works his way down the left and tries to release Decordova-Reid with a cute flick down the channel ... but his team-mate checks his run and the ball dribbles through to Mendy.
57 min: Maja wins Fulham’s fifth corner of the evening. Can they make it count? They populate Chelsea’s six-yard box with extreme prejudice ... then Lookman fails to beat the first man.
56 min: A chance for Lemina to cream a shot goalwards from 25 yards. He opts instead to slip a pass forward for Cavaleiro. The chance is gone, and the move fizzles out.
54 min: Chelsea ping it around methodically, just because they can.
52 min: Fulham, who haven’t won at Stamford Bridge in the top flight since the days of Bedford Jezzard and Bobby Robson, are really up against it now. They won’t be relegated today, but their margin for error is so small that defeat here will feel like the penultimate nail in the coffin.
50 min: VAR has obviously been designed to ruin everything, and there’s a tedious pause as The Man tries to find fault with the goal. Anything to spoil anyone’s fun. A marginal offside earlier in the move? Nope, as it turns out. The goal stands.
Updated
GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Fulham (Havertz 49)
Chilwell creams a pass down the right for Havertz, who spins, passes inside for Werner, and keeps on running. Werner slips a lovely return pass between Adarabioyo and Anderson, and Havertz flicks into the bottom right. That’s another lovely finish, and a fine assist from Werner too.
Updated
48 min: Robinson tries to get Fulham on the attack with a determined run down the left, but he runs out of road. No options for him.
46 min: Christensen strides forward again. Much improved under Tuchel, he’s clearly in an ambitious mood today. His leggy run sets up Werner, who one-twos down the inside-right channel with Ziyech but can’t quite get a shot away.
Fulham get the second half underway. No changes.
Richard Hirst’s half-time report. “Four corners to one, six shots to two, must be winning comfor...... ach damn!”
Half-time reading. While it’s looking increasingly grim for Fulham, the team one place above them in the Premier League table are beginning to enjoy life again. Louise Taylor reports.
HALF TIME: Chelsea 1-0 Fulham
Fulham nearly equalise with the last kick of the half! Aina chests down and shoots from the edge of the D. His drive, meant for the bottom left, takes a deflection off James and nearly wrong-foots Mendy. The keeper adjusts magnificently to palm clear of danger. And there goes the whistle. As things stand, Chelsea will consolidate third place and close in on Leicester in second, with Fulham edging ever closer to the drop.
45 min: Christensen and Mount combine smoothly down the right. Suddenly the defender is in the Fulham box with the ball at his feet. Cue nose bleed.
43 min: Lookman drives down the right and crosses low. Maja tries to tee up Cavaleiro on the edge of the box, but the pass is poor and Chelsea clear their lines. Just for a second, the hosts were exposed there.
41 min: Zouma is booked for an agricultural lunge on Anguissa.
40 min: Werner races into the box from the left, this time, and his low shot is smothered by Areola.
39 min: Anguissa’s loose touch allows Mount to launch a break. He slips Werner away down the right. Werner is entitled to shoot, upon reaching the box, but spots Ziyech totally unmarked on the penalty spot. He unselfishly rolls infield. Ziyech sidefoots towards the bottom left, but Areola blocks brilliantly.
Updated
37 min: All that energy was wasted, as it turns out. Mount fails to beat the first man and Fulham clear the corner with ease.
36 min: Werner keeps on moving, and his energy down the right wins Chelsea’s first corner of the evening.
34 min: Andersen takes a heavy touch while playing out from the back and is extremely fortunate to see the ball squirt away when Werner block-tackles him. A more friendly bounce of the ball would have seen Werner scamper free.
32 min: Mount releases Havertz down the inside-right channel. Up goes the offside flag again. Mount certainly has his eye in this evening; one assist already, with a couple of other cute passes thrown in.
31 min: Chelsea re-establish some order with a period of sterile possession in the middle of the park.
29 min: Fulham have enjoyed 68 percent possession during the last ten minutes. “What must be going through poor Frank’s head?” worries Mary Waltz. “He sees Tuchel take the exact same team he managed and turns them from average into champion status. Well, at least he can take comfort that his old rival Rooney is leading Derby to possible relegation.”
27 min: Lookman crosses from the left. Chilwell and Cavaleiro clash in the middle, the pair falling to the turf. Fulham want a penalty, but they’re not getting one. It didn’t look like a foul, to be fair.
26 min: Fulham nearly open Chelsea up down the left, Lookman and Robinson combining, but hesitate and eventually get themselves into a tangle. Lemina eventually hoicks the ball out for a goal kick. Still, these last few minutes will have given Fulham succour. They’ve regrouped well.
Updated
25 min: Fulham have recovered their early poise. They were rocking for a wee bit there. Now it’s their turn to hog the ball in the middle of the park.
23 min: Chelsea only half-clear the corner, and Lookman, just inside the box on the right, whistles a low drive towards the bottom left. Mendy does extremely well to keep an excellent shot out with a strong arm, and nothing comes of the resulting corner.
22 min: Silva and Gilmour over-elaborate when playing out from the back. Maja intercepts and rolls Decordova-Reid into the box down the right. Silva makes up for his mistake by blocking the shot and turning the ball out for a corner.
20 min: Aina glides in from the right and looks for the top-left corner. An overly ambitious effort sails deep into the stand.
19 min: Anguissa strides down the right. He eventually runs out of road, but the sortie is blessed relief for Fulham, who otherwise have been chasing shadows since the goal.
17 min: Mount bustles in from the left and clips a pass into the centre for Havertz, who sorts his feet out on the penalty spot before extravagantly flicking home. One hell of a finish, but it won’t count; he’s miles offside.
16 min: Chelsea continue to hog the ball. Fulham’s early verve is all but gone.
14 min: Chelsea have found their groove now. They’re stroking it around with the confidence of ... well ... potential European champions. The job Thomas Tuchel has done since taking over in January is nothing short of remarkable. Incidentally, Frank Lampard is currently the bookies favourite to take over at Crystal Palace should Roy Hodgson retire.
12 min: So much for Fulham’s fast start. The Cottagers have conceded first on 15 occasions this season. They’ve gone on to lose 14 of those, and draw the other. God speed, Fulham.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Fulham (Havertz 10)
This is beautiful. A long ball down the middle of the park is pulled down elegantly by Mount, who draws two defenders and rolls a pass between them, releasing Havertz into the box down the inside-left channel. Havertz takes a touch and dinks the ball across Areola and into the bottom right. So simple!
Updated
9 min: Chelsea are fond of a high press, too, and pin Fulham back for a bit. The visitors refuse to buckle.
Updated
7 min: The small flaw in the Fulham plan is exposed when Chelsea beat the high press. Havertz drives down the middle and feeds Mount on the left. Mount fizzes a low cross through the Fulham box, Werner a toenail away from poking home.
5 min: But Fulham are in a positive mood, and come straight back at Chelsea, Robinson sending a screamer towards the top right. Mendy is forced to fingertip over the bar. The resulting corner ends up at the feet of Andersen, 30 yards out. He takes a whack as well. Miles over, but it’s clear Fulham have decided to give this a proper go.
4 min: Lookman takes. Christensen flicks clear. Cavaleiro tries to return the ball but only manages to run the ball out for a goal kick.
3 min: Fulham are pressing Chelsea fast and hard, high up the field. They swarm Mendy into a poor clearance, and the interception leads to the first corner of the game, out on the right. Fulham load the six-yard box.
2 min: Chelsea are kicking towards the Shed in this first half. Lemina crunches Werner, while Christensen lets Lookman know he’s here. A couple of nice early challenges. Well, it is a derby after all.
Chelsea get the ball rolling ... but only after everyone takes a knee. There’s no room for racism. Challenge it. Report it. Change it. Kick it out.
The teams are out! Chelsea are in their royal blue, while Fulham sport first-choice white and black. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes. In the meantime, Mary Waltz gives Richard Hirst a pre-match pep talk: “I saw the pilot for Citizen Smith and when Wolfie wanted to prove that he understood suffering, he proclaimed: ‘I root for Fulham.’ So Mr. Hirst don’t give up hope. ‘Power to the People, Freedom for Tooting.’”
Scott Parker reflects on Fulham’s recent wins at Liverpool and Everton, and draw at Arsenal. “Those results give us belief. Those fixtures are tough places to go and get three points, and we’ve managed to do that. We’re playing a top side so will have to be near-perfect today, but that gives us confidence. We will stick to our principles and try to give Chelsea some problems. We have belief, it’s been a long journey this season, we’ve been a little bit inconsistent. But I believe, and the players believe. We need to win games. We will try to win the game.”
Thomas Tuchel talks to Sky Sports. “Hopefully Billy Gilmour does what he does in training, because that’s why he deserves to start. It is also because of the fact we give Jorginho and N’Golo Kante a well-deserved rest. But this is how it is as a young player, you wait for your opportunity. He waited long and worked hard for this, so I don’t want him to overdo stuff, I hope he can show what he shows in training. We do not want to send the message, or even give the slightest impression, that we judge Wednesday’s game over this game here. On the other hand, there were some clear signals for Cesar Azpilicueta, Christian Pulisic and N’Golo Kante that we have a risk of injury that we will never take. So we trust our group and the quality of the guys. We want to prove it is possible to play a high-intensity game even if it is between two semi-finals.”
Fulham fan Richard Hirst reacts to Brighton’s win by cracking wise. “Glad you’ve pointed out that Fulham are playing ersatz Fulham (also known as Walham Green). That is probably the only satisfaction we’re going to get today, or indeed this season, given that Brighton beat Leeds. Still, there’s always that mystical cold night in Stoke to look forward to!”
Fulham’s hopes of staying up have taken a big knock. Brighton & Hove Albion have beaten Leeds United 2-0, Fabian Gross and Danny Welbeck with the goals at the Amex. That moves them from 17th to 14th, on 37 points, and means the gap between Fulham and safety is now nine points. With five games remaining, escape’s not yet impossible, but becoming increasingly improbable.
Chelsea make five changes to the team sent out to face Real Madrid last Tuesday. Kurt Zouma, Hakim Ziyech, Reece James, Kai Havertz and Billy Gilmour come in, the latter making his first start of the Premier League season. Cesar Azpilicueta, N’Golo Kante, Jorginho and Christian Pulisic drop to the bench, while Antonio Rudiger is injured.
Fulham, who came so close to winning at Arsenal two weeks ago, name the same XI. Ruben Loftus-Cheek, on loan from Chelsea, is ineligible.
The teams
Chelsea: Mendy, Christensen, Thiago Silva, Zouma, James, Gilmour, Mount, Chilwell, Ziyech, Werner, Havertz.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Alonso, Jorginho, Kante, Abraham, Pulisic, Hudson-Odoi, Azpilicueta, Anjorin.
Fulham: Areola, Aina, Andersen, Adarabioyo, Robinson, Reid, Zambo, Lemina, Lookman, Maja, Ivan Cavaleiro.
Subs: Tete, Hector, Odoi, Mitrovic, Rodak, Ream, Bryan, Onomah, Carvalho.
Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire).
Preamble
Welcome to our live coverage of the Fulham derby between Fulham-based Chelsea and Fulham. You can see why this one usually gets bundled under the indistinct West London derby umbrella that also covers QPR and Brentford. It’s surely only a matter of time before somebody commissions a creative brand agency to sort this mess out. But here we are and this is it.
You’d expect Chelsea to win this one easily enough. They’re looking to consolidate the fourth spot that would secure Champions League football next season, while Fulham are six pints down in the last-chance saloon, seven shy of safety with the barman about to call lasties.
Chelsea have won their last six against Fulham; the Cottagers haven’t beaten the Pensioners since 2006, their only victory over their most local rivals in the last 39 meetings. But trends are there to be bucked, and Scott Parker may be hoping that Thomas Tuchel and his men are preoccupied with the Champions League semi-final second leg visit of Real Madrid on Wednesday. He’ll also surely draw inspiration from coming so close to a first-ever win at Arsenal a fortnight ago, and plenty of rest since then. The stakes are high for both teams, not least because, well, it’s the West London derby. It’s on!
Kick off: 5.30pm BST.
