Chelsea suffered a disappointing 2-1 defeat to local rivals Fulham on Wednesday evening, marking a rough start to the year as new head coach Liam Rosenior watched from the stands. The match at Craven Cottage took a disastrous turn for the Blues in the 22nd minute when Marc Cucurella was shown a straight red card for a last-man foul on Harry Wilson.Despite the disadvantage, Chelsea held firm until the 55th minute, when Sander Berge delivered a perfect cross for Raúl Jiménez to head home the opener. Chelsea briefly found a lifeline through Liam Delap, who scored his first Premier League goal for the club to equalize in the 72nd minute, but Harry Wilson secured the win for the hosts with a low volley in the 81st minute.
The loss sees Chelsea drop from fifth to eighth in the Premier League table, now sitting level on 31 points with Fulham, who move up to ninth. This was the final match under interim manager Calum McFarlane before Rosenior officially takes charge for this weekend’s FA Cup tie against Charlton Athletic. The Blues struggled to find their rhythm following Cucurella’s dismissal, with stars like Cole Palmer and Andrey Santos unable to capitalize on set-piece opportunities that plagued the Fulham defense throughout the night.
Meanwhile, Manchester City’s title charge hit a roadblock as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton & Hove Albion at the Etihad Stadium. Erling Haaland made history by scoring his 150th goal for the club from the penalty spot in the 41st minute, becoming the quickest player in Premier League history to reach that milestone. However, Pep Guardiola’s side, weakened by injuries to Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol, could not hold onto the lead. Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma scored a stunning equalizer in the 60th minute, forcing City to settle for their third successive draw.
