Chelsea may have extended their unbeaten start to the season last night but Claudio Ranieri will feel his team should have won his 100th match in charge. In a frantic derby high on effort but low on quality, his players wasted three good chances in the second half.
A below-par Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink spurned the first couple and Jesper Gronkjaer allowed Edwin van der Sar to save from a pass by the excellent Frank Lampard. Not that Chelsea had things all their own way in a tight match which saw Fulham carve the better first-half chances and the young defender Robert Huth impress for Chelsea.
Fulham had come into this game with a 100% record at their temporary home and Chelsea arrived unbeaten this season, so something had to give. With Fulham's last win against their neighbours coming in 1979, history seemed to be on the visitors' side.
Not that Jean Tigana's team had looked by any means the underdogs. Their 1-0 victory at Hajduk Split last week had shown how far they have come in a short time and motivation was never likely to be a problem.
Tigana has talked of aiming to get into the Champions League and the players knew a victory would lift them into third spot with a game in hand on Liverpool and Arsenal. Moreover Fulham were keen to avenge a 1-0 defeat by Chelsea in last season's FA Cup semi-final.
Their chairman Mohamed Al Fayed said in the build-up that Fulham would soon be "kings of west London" but neither team looked much like royalty in a first half which was predictably hard fought, frantic and scrappy.
Chelsea were probably glad not to face intense early pressure because their defence was not at its strongest. The captain Marcel Desailly was absent because of injury so Huth, a teenaged German, made his first Premiership start at centre-back.
With little time or space on offer, it was hard for the players to build up much rhythm but Steed Malbranque, who has the ability to light up events, sent over a cross which Steve Marlet headed wide.
Hasselbaink must have wished for similar service but he was finding it hard to make his mark and Chelsea's first clear chance came from a set piece. Gianfranco Zola's free-kick found Huth unmarked but the youngster horribly mistimed his header.
Amid the rough and tumble Lampard stood out in the centre of Chelsea's midfield. He was not only tackling energetically but made several fine passes and rarely wasted the ball while those around him, including Zola, struggled to exert an influence.
Possession was constantly changing hands and, when there were openings, the final pass was too often poor. That was exemplified when Malbranque was sent scampering into the area but provided a poor cross with Barry Hayles waiting at the near post, enabling Huth to clear.
Yet Fulham were now exerting the most sustained pressure of the evening. Chelsea lived dangerously several times, Hayles shooting over and Junichi Inamoto bringing a fine save from Carlo Cudicini, though Boudewijn Zenden shot wide when put through by Lampard at the other end.
Chelsea might have gone ahead early in the second half but Hasselbaink, plainly lacking sharpness, failed to make the most of the opening. Quique de Lucas's cross was ideal for a stooping header but the Dutchman flicked wide.
The end-to-end momentum continued when Hayles went clear on the right as Mario Stanic, not for the first time, was caught out of position in his unfamiliar role at left-back. Again, though, the opportunity came to nothing and, when Hasselbaink was off target for a second time, Chelsea must have felt victory would elude them.
