Chelsea back to winning ways as Mason Mount sinks 10-man Fulham

 

It will become clear in due course if this victory represents a turning point for Chelsea. The worry, however, is that it merely masked the flaws in Frank Lampard’s game management. The challenge was to break Fulham down after Antonee Robinson’s dismissal set up a second half of defence versus attack and the pressure on Lampard was rising before Mason Mount shattered the tension, producing the kind of decisiveness largely absent from Chelsea’s attacking play.

Another inquest was on the cards before Mount summoned fine technique to drive home a low volley with 12 minutes left, securing Lampard a second league win in seven games. Uninspired for long spells, Chelsea spent a lot of time running down dead ends. They were profligate when openings did appear and although their patience was rewarded in the end, Chelsea’s struggle to capitalise on their numerical advantage was a concern.

As it was, the narrative was shaped by little moments, from Alphonse Areola’s soft punch landing at Mount’s feet to Fulham going down to 10 men just before half-time. As Scott Parker rightly argued, his side were starting to dominate before Robinson leapt into an ill-advised challenge on César Azpilicueta in the 44th minute. The left wing-back’s aberration came moments after Ivan Cavaleiro had wasted an opportunity to give Fulham the lead and the mood changed once the USA international departed, paving the way for Chelsea to grind their way to victory.

Perhaps Chelsea, who are up to seventh, deserve credit for wearing Fulham down. Perhaps this will spark a recovery. Yet it is hard to be sure given how accomplished Fulham were in restricting Lampard’s side. “The players approached it really well,” Lampard said. “With 10 men the challenge was can we take advantage of this? It wasn’t easy. The spirit of the whole team was great.”

Eventually Fulham cracked, tiring as time wore on. However their defending and organisation impressed, especially as Lampard was slow to make attacking substitutions.

It was not until the 65th minute that the Chelsea manager made his first change, removing Jorginho from midfield and putting Tammy Abraham alongside Olivier Giroud up front. Ten minutes later he brought on Timo Werner, who demonstrated his lack of confidence by missing a glorious chance to make it 2-0 in added time, and Callum Hudson-Odoi, whose cameo suggested that Lampard had made a mistake with his starting line-up.

It felt too sedate from the visitors during the early stages, even if a deep-lying pivot of Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic established control in midfield. Chelsea needed more imagination to prise Fulham apart and it was hard to detect a pattern to their attacks at times. Full report here