1-0 down, 2-1 up: Could Chelsea’s stunning late win at Fulham have saved the Blues’ faltering season?

Fulham (1) 1 v Chelsea (0) 2

Premier League

Matchweek 33

Talking Points

By Kaz Mochlinski at Craven Cottage

‘One-Nil Down Two-One Up’ was a popular Arsenal fanzine at the height of supporters producing publications about their clubs, just before and after the establishment of the Premier League.

Instead of chronicling events in N5, it would be more suitable this season for SW6, where Fulham and Chelsea have swapped a pair of league results perfectly described by the fanzine’s famous title.

Rarely can two home and away West London derby matches have proved so potentially pivotal to the outcomes of their entire seasons for both the Cottagers and the Blues.

And even more unusually the games at Craven Cottage and Stamford Bridge each followed an almost identical pattern, with the visitors trailing 1-0 at half-time before eventually winning 2-1.

Chelsea took the lead at home in the 16th minute but were beaten by goals in the 82nd and 95th. Fulham remarkably reversed that by the riverside, going ahead in the 20th but succumbing to strikes in the 84th and 93rd minutes.

Maybe it was something to do with the scheduling, as the parallels persist in both the meetings this season occurring during the two great annual Christian feasts, of Christmas and Easter.

Fulham’s prayers for a late miracle were answered on Boxing Day, and it was the Chelsea players’ turn to sink to their knees in thanks and relief at the epic turn-around that they achieved on Easter Sunday.

Until this latest dramatic recovery, 2-1 must have been the Blues’ least popular score of the present campaign - and conversely by far and away the Cottagers’ favourite result recently.

In addition to the historic victory at the Bridge, Fulham had unforgettably beaten Brentford with two Harry Wilson strikes in stoppage time, as well as winning at Newcastle United, again 2-1 on each occasion.

Chelsea had been knocked out of the FA Cup earlier this year at Brighton & Hove Albion and also humiliatingly lost to Legia Warszawa in their last match by the same scoreline, the latter an undoubted low point in their year.

Admittedly, in February Chelsea overcame West Ham United 2-1 after trailing 1-0 at half-time - just as they managed at Fulham - with Pedro Neto making one of several crucial contributions this season.

Levelling the game against West Ham followed Neto’s equaliser to secure a 1-1 draw with Arsenal in November, both at Stamford Bridge. However, neither was as vital as getting the winner in front of the Hammersmith End to break Fulham hearts.

For the Portuguese winger personally it ended a run of seven matches without a goal - and means too that in 2025 Neto is now the top scorer in the Premier League among all of Chelsea’s forwards with three goals.

Marc Cucurella is so far the solitary other Blues player to reach that number in this calendar year, having by himself lately on several occasions saved his side embarrassment - something which was acknowledged afterwards with good humour by Enzo Maresca.

Chelsea’s head coach was smiling when he talked about the goals at Fulham from Tyrique George and then Neto, evoking laughter from his listeners with his comment that “Fortunately it was not Cucurella again!”

Maresca is still not great in his media communications, his English language use imperfect, but this was one of his better efforts at a press conference, including the admission that “Sometimes you also have to be a little bit lucky.”

While generally true about a stoppage time win, he and his players actually deserve a lot of credit for their second half revival, not giving up but persevering with commitment and determination despite all the dispiriting setbacks recently.

Maresca has made many mistakes, not least by starting with Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson against Legia, then still withdrawing them early, when losing, in order to try and prevent their overexertion ahead of playing at Fulham three days later.

However, Maresca’s replacing of Jackson with George against the Cottagers was justified only six minutes later when the teenager scored his first Premier League goal. A spontaneous first-time strike, it was quickly followed by one of Chelsea’s goals of the season.

Trevoh Chalobah, Enzo Fernández and Neto made contributions to both goals, with the Argentinian, who took over at half-time from Reece James as captain, involved three times in the beautiful team move for the winner, including the pass to the scorer.

It did not just end Chelsea’s run of eight away games in the Premier League without a victory since the 3-4 success at Spurs on December 8th last year. The Blues had not even scored a goal away from the Bridge in the league for over two months.

345 minutes playing time had elapsed from Chelsea last finding the net on February 22nd in a defeat at Aston Villa with (of course) a 2-1 scoreline. That is still relatively brief compared to Palmer and Jackson’s individual goalless sequences currently.

Palmer has now gone 16 matches in all competitions without scoring, while Jackson has reached 13 games since his most recent goal. Palmer at least played a pivotal part in the build-up to Neto’s fine finish at Fulham.

For the Cottagers, their first win at Stamford Bridge in 45 years had given them the impetus to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals and challenge in the Premier League to get into the European qualification places. But they have faltered lately.

Including their elimination from the FA Cup by Crystal Palace, Fulham have lost four of their last five matches. In three months they have had seven 2-1 results, winning the first four but being beaten in the last three.

Within the space of seven days, Fulham have fallen narrowly at Bournemouth to a goal in the opening minute and against Chelsea to one scored in stoppage time right at the end of the game. Small errors are proving exceedingly expensive.

A touch from Antonee Robinson directed the ball to Antoine Semenyo for Bournemouth’s winner, and the defender was unfortunate enough to suffer a repeat for a second successive goal conceded by the Cottagers, with this time George getting the gift.

If the SW6 derby beside the River Thames has ultimately undermined Fulham’s push for European competition, it has simultaneously resuscitated Chelsea’s crumbling chances of qualifying for the Champions League.

After slipping to seventh place in the Premier League ahead of kick-off, the Blues’ celebrations of the comeback at the Cottage were wild - and cost Maresca a yellow card, his third of the campaign, earning him a suspension for their next match, against Everton.

But being 1-0 down and finishing 2-1 up at Fulham might yet have saved Chelsea’s season.