By our man at Craven Cottage
THE circus has come to town, but at Chelsea, the clowns are running the show.
In a night of pure, unadulterated West London drama, JOAO FELIX went from Savior to Sinner in 58 madness-filled minutes. Chelsea’s shiny new £9m loan star—the man supposed to sprinkle some Portuguese magic on Graham Potter’s crumbling empire—instead conjured a horror-show red card that left the Blues singing the blues.
Fulham didn’t care for the script. They didn’t care about the price tags.
Marco Silva’s men smelled blood and bit hard, securing a 2-1 win that leaves Chelsea stuck in the mid-table mud and the Cottage faithful dreaming of Europe.
WILLIAN THRILLIAN
It was written in the stars, wasn’t it? WILLIAN, the man who spent seven years making the Bridge bounce, came back to haunt his old flames.
On 25 minutes, the Brazilian veteran cut inside and unleashed a strike that took a wicked nick off Trevoh Chalobah, flying past a helpless Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The winger refused to celebrate, but the home end erupted. Chelsea looked shell-shocked.
They had the superstars, they had the possession, but they lacked the grit.
FELIX: FROM HERO TO ZERO
For an hour, it looked like Felix was worth every penny of his astronomical loan fee. He was everywhere—flicking, tricking, and testing Bernd Leno at every turn. When KALIDOU KOULIBALY scrambled home an equalizer just after the break, the momentum was all Blue.
Then came the moment of absolute lunacy.
Felix, perhaps too desperate to impress, flew into a reckless, studs-up lunge on Kenny Tete. Referee David Coote didn’t hesitate.
The red card was out faster than a Chelsea manager’s severance check. Felix trudged off, head bowed, his debut—and his next three games—up in smoke.
With the man advantage, Fulham turned the screw. On 73 minutes, Andreas Pereira—another superstar showing Chelsea how it’s done—whipped in a cross of pure silk.
CARLOS VINICIUS, standing in for the suspended goal-machine Aleksandar Mitrovic, rose like a titan to head home at the back post.
Potter threw on everything but the kitchen sink, introducing the likes of HAKIM ZIYECH and CONOR GALLAGHER, but the wall of White wouldn’t break.
At the final whistle, the Cottage was rocking.
For Chelsea, it’s eight defeats in 11. For Fulham, it’s local bragging rights and a seat at the big table. Potter’s magic wand hasn’t just lost its spark—it’s snapped in half.
