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Mason Mount finally broke the resistance of 10-man Fulham as Chelsea laboured their way to only a second Premier League win in seven games.
Antonee Robinson was sent off late in the first half for Fulham for a dangerous tackle on Cesar Azpilicueta.
Ten different players had shots for Chelsea, but they were wasteful in front of goal.
Their biggest chance before the goal was when Mount crashed a shot off the crossbar.
The England midfielder eventually proved the match-winner with a half-volley after Alphonse Areola flapped at Ben Chilwell’s cross.
The win takes Chelsea up to seventh, while Fulham – who had drawn their previous five league games – are four points from safety.
Can result help Chelsea kick-start season?
Chelsea went top of the table on 5 December when they beat Leeds. This was only their second victory in the league since then – and they sit seven points off Manchester United, having played an extra game.
Boss Frank Lampard talked about “the experience and personality of” Olivier Giroud and Antonio Rudiger when explaining their places in starting XI – and spoke of the need to “kick-start” their season.
The result came eventually, albeit not with a stellar performance.
Giroud and Chilwell both missed the target with volleys, while Hakim Ziyech had a shot well saved before Mount hit the bar.
Rudiger had a header tipped wide, Ziyech went close with a shot from the left wing and Giroud flicked an effort wide at the near post.
It looked as if the goal was never going to come before Mount finally converted with a well-hit low finish.
Substitute Timo Werner had a glorious chance to end his Premier League goal drought – going back to 7 November – late on but slotted wide at the end of a counter-attack.
More to follow.
How to play
Rate players out of 10 throughout or after the game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle.
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Fulham
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Squad number1Player nameAreola
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Squad number34Player nameAina
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Squad number5Player nameAndersen
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Squad number16Player nameAdarabioyo
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Squad number2Player nameTete
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Squad number14Player nameDe Cordova-Reid
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Squad number21Player nameReed
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Squad number29Player nameZambo Anguissa
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Squad number33Player nameRobinson
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Squad number17Player nameCavaleiro
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Squad number19Player nameLookman
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Squad number23Player nameBryan
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Squad number25Player nameOnomah
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Squad number47Player nameKamara
Chelsea
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Squad number16Player nameMendy
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Squad number28Player nameAzpilicueta
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Squad number6Player nameThiago Silva
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Squad number2Player nameRüdiger
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Squad number21Player nameChilwell
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Squad number17Player nameKovacic
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Squad number5Player nameJorginho
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Squad number19Player nameMount
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Squad number22Player nameZiyech
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Squad number18Player nameGiroud
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Squad number10Player namePulisic
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Squad number9Player nameAbraham
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Squad number11Player nameWerner
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Squad number20Player nameHudson-Odoi
Line-ups
Fulham
Formation 3-5-2
- 1Areola
- 34AinaSubstituted forBryanat 83′minutes
- 5Andersen
- 16Adarabioyo
- 2Tete
- 14De Cordova-ReidBooked at 69minsSubstituted forKamaraat 83′minutes
- 21Reed
- 29Zambo Anguissa
- 33RobinsonBooked at 44mins
- 17CavaleiroSubstituted forOnomahat 79′minutes
- 19LookmanBooked at 88mins
Substitutes
- 3Hector
- 4Odoi
- 7Kebano
- 12Rodák
- 13Ream
- 23Bryan
- 25Onomah
- 47Kamara
Chelsea
Formation 4-3-3
- 16Mendy
- 28AzpilicuetaBooked at 90mins
- 6Thiago SilvaBooked at 82mins
- 2Rüdiger
- 21Chilwell
- 17Kovacic
- 5JorginhoSubstituted forAbrahamat 65′minutes
- 19Mount
- 22ZiyechBooked at 72minsSubstituted forHudson-Odoiat 75′minutes
- 18GiroudSubstituted forWernerat 75′minutes
- 10Pulisic
Substitutes
- 1Arrizabalaga
- 9Abraham
- 11Werner
- 15Zouma
- 20Hudson-Odoi
- 23Gilmour
- 24James
- 29Havertz
- 33Emerson
Live Text
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Match ends, Fulham 0, Chelsea 1.
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Second Half ends, Fulham 0, Chelsea 1.
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Attempt missed. Timo Werner (Chelsea) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Christian Pulisic following a fast break.
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César Azpilicueta (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Foul by César Azpilicueta (Chelsea).
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Ademola Lookman (Fulham) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Attempt missed. César Azpilicueta (Chelsea) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Timo Werner.
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Attempt blocked. Mason Mount (Chelsea) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
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Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Harrison Reed.
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Callum Hudson-Odoi (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Joe Bryan (Fulham).
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Ademola Lookman (Fulham) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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César Azpilicueta (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Ademola Lookman (Fulham).
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Attempt saved. Aboubakar Kamara (Fulham) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
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Substitution, Fulham. Joe Bryan replaces Ola Aina.
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Substitution, Fulham. Aboubakar Kamara replaces Bobby De Cordova-Reid.
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Thiago Silva (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Foul by Thiago Silva (Chelsea).
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Ademola Lookman (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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