Liam Rosenior was only in the stands despite being named the new permanent Chelsea manager before their game against Fulham in the Premier League.
Rosenior didn’t have time to work with the squad before the West London derby, leaving Calum McFarlane in charge for the 2-1 defeat.
The Blues shot themselves in the foot again when Marc Cucurella was sent off in the first half, a problem which has become all too familiar during the 2025/26 season.
Defeat came despite Liam Delap’s first Premier League goal of the season, building nicely on his impressive cameo against Manchester City.
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty ImagesChelsea’s 2-1 defeat to Fulham mirrors Graham Potter efforts three years ago
The 2-1 scoreline mirrors Chelsea’s efforts three years ago at Craven Cottage, however the two games have far more similarities than just that.
Graham Potter’s Blues fell behind in that game to former Chelsea man Willian, however a summer signing pulled them back level in the second half.
On that day it was Kalidou Koulibaly who found the net, however a late winner saw Fulham take all three points in January 2023.
The game was overshadowed by a red card for Joao Felix on his debut for the club, another worrying similarity to this year’s meeting with Cucurella’s red card.
The lack of progress in this exact fixture, one so important to Chelsea supporters, is a damning look on the ownership, who were the real losers of Wednesday’s defeat.
Photo by Clive Rose/Getty ImagesChelsea fans fully turn against BlueCo
For the second away game in a row, Chelsea fans chanted for Roman Abramovich as a response to what they are seeing going on at their club.
Blues supporters were raging about Behdad Eghbali, who was in attendance at Craven Cottage alongside Rosenior.
It has become clear that the new manager has a serious job on his hands both on and off the pitch, although is not coming into completely uncharted territory.
Rosenior was forced to deal with protesting Strasbourg fans throughout his tenure there, with them seemingly fed up of BlueCo as well.
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