Chelsea secured a 3-2 victory over Fulham in the Premier League at Craven Cottage on August 24, 2026, marking Xabi Alonso's debut as Chelsea manager [1, 2, 3]. The Blues' front three—Joao Pedro, Morgan Rogers, and Cole Palmer—all scored goals during the match [1, 2, 3].
Joao Pedro opened the scoring after just 31 seconds, the quickest goal of the Premier League season's opening round, with an assist from Cole Palmer [1, 2, 3, 4]. Fulham struck back in the 24th minute when Josh King capitalized on an error by Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to equalize [1, 2, 3]. Sanchez faced criticism for errors that contributed to both Fulham goals [2, 5, 6].
Morgan Rogers, Chelsea’s £117 million signing from Aston Villa, scored his first goal for the club in the 41st minute on his debut [1, 2, 3, 7]. Early in the second half, Cole Palmer added a third goal for Chelsea, assisted by Joao Pedro, putting the visitors ahead 3-1 [1, 2, 3]. Gonzalo Garcia, making his league debut after transferring from Real Madrid, scored for Fulham in the 54th minute to keep the match close [2, 3, 7].
Chelsea played in a 3-4-2-1 formation under Alonso but were without Moisés Caicedo and Marco Palestra due to injuries [5, 8]. The team took 18 shots with six on target, showing a strong attacking intent [9]. Enzo Fernandez came on as a substitute for Chelsea and was booed by Fulham fans [2, 7].
Fulham manager Álvaro Arbeloa, also making his Premier League coaching debut and Alonso’s former Real Madrid teammate, said, "My players they did what they had to do. I can’t be happy because we lost this game. We wanted to win for our fans. But I think this is the way that we have to play..." [9].
Alonso praised his attacking trio, saying, "They are going to be a very important part to build around them, to build the team with them. They need to take responsibility. They need to lead the rest. They need to inspire the rest because if they do great, the other ones will follow" [3]. He was especially positive about Palmer's performance: "I'm very happy for Cole because I have really enjoyed seeing him playing with this dynamism, with this freedom, with this responsibility, helping the team, feeling important... If Cole feels this way, we'll have a better team, a better Chelsea" [9].
Morgan Rogers also praised Palmer after the match: "Everyone knows how good he is, obviously he's had a difficult year with injuries... He's ready this year, and he's ready to prove people wrong. We saw that on the pitch with our performance. He's the best player on the pitch by a mile" [6]. Palmer said, "It was a difficult season with injuries and whatnot but through the summer and since I’ve been back I’ve worked extra hard... I know the talent I’ve got so I can put in performances like that" [4].
Fulham battled late to try and equalize, with Antonee Robinson nearly scoring a late lob that missed the target [2, 3]. The match ended 3-2 to Chelsea, giving Alonso a winning start to his tenure.
Chelsea will prepare for their next Premier League fixture as the new season continues.
