Cucurella red leaves 10-man Chelsea beaten 2-1 by Fulham

Ten-man Chelsea were beaten 2-1 by Fulham at Craven Cottage, with Goal reporting a first-half red card for Marc Cucurella left the Blues a man down as new head coach Liam Rosenior watched from the stands.

Midway through the first half Enzo Fernandez's corner flew over Bernd Leno and was shouldered onto the crossbar by Andrey Santos, with Moises Caicedo's rebound blocked by a cluster of Fulham bodies. Moments later a long kick from Leno released Harry Wilson; Cucurella, the last man, dragged him down and was shown a red card — Chelsea's seventh of the season — forcing the visitors to play roughly three quarters of the game with 10 men. In first-half added time Fulham had a goal by Wilson ruled out after Raul Jimenez was flagged offside in the build-up.

After the break Sander Berge's cross found Raul Jimenez, who headed Fulham in front. Liam Delap levelled when he reacted quickest to a rebound after Antonee Robinson nodded Pedro Neto's corner onto his own post, but Fulham pushed on and Robert Sanchez made several saves before Wilson lashed in the winner after Sanchez parried an Emile Smith Rowe low cross to the edge of the box.

Chelsea failed to find an equaliser and have lost further ground in the race for a Champions League place, with Fulham now level on points and Brentford two clear of both of them. Player ratings from the match highlighted Cucurella's dismissal as the pivotal moment of the night.

Key Topics

Sports, Marc Cucurella, Chelsea, Fulham, Liam Rosenior, Craven Cottage