Fulham 2-1 Chelsea (Willian 25’, Vinicius | Koulibaly 47’, Felix sent off ‘58)
To really understand what’s going on at Chelsea, perhaps we should take a look at Elon Musk. For the (intermittently) world’s richest man, buying Twitter was part of some higher sphere chess game, inexplicable to mere mortals. He doesn’t expect you to understand, and if the walls come crashing down around him, that is all part of the plan.
Unfortunately for Graham Potter, he will stand or fall not by his own whims, but by a series of decisions that likely have very little to do with him. Just as Musk spins excitedly in a desk chair somewhere in Texas, Potter’s hopes at Craven Cottage lay in clinging to the shiny new goods he’s been plied with this time, praying they’re good enough to fix his problems. Enter Joao Felix.
The Portuguese forward only arrived in the country yesterday following his loan signing from Atletico Madrid but was thrown straight in for one of the most significant west London derbies in recent memory. For 58 minutes anyway, before a sliding tackle on Kenny Tete and a red card. Exit Joao Felix.
“What a waste of money,” sang the Fulham fans. It was only a £9m loan fee, but Todd Boehly probably agrees.
At least the weight of expectation falls a little differently on the youngster’s shoulders. So often have Chelsea pulled this kind of stunt that there has been no real assumption that Felix’s move will be a success – in a sense, that almost gave him a free pass. He certainly played with the sparkle of a debutant unworried by the burden of his loan fee, or by the fervour with which his every move has been followed since he was a Primeira Liga teenager.
Before the early bath, there were doses of inspiration, which is more than most Chelsea players have offered in recent weeks. He troubled Andreas Pereira as he raced through the middle, drawing yellows from both the former Manchester United midfielder and Antonee Robinson in the first 15 minutes. Felix was allowed to drift between the left and right flanks; on the latter, his impact might have been immediate, floating past Tim Ream with a nutmeg and delivering a sumptuous cross that inexplicably, neither Kai Havertz nor Hall could finish.
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Yet who better than a Brazilian who spent seven years at Stamford Bridge to remind Chelsea that the issues are deep-seated, structural: even when he stays on the pitch, Felix will not fix their plight. Willian seized the ball on the edge of the area, beating Cesar Azpilicueta and firing a shot past Kepa Arrizabalaga, courtesy of a deflection from Trevoh Chalobah.
When Chelsea’s equaliser arrived after half time, it was through a more unconventional route. Masson Mount’s free-kick would have inched into the inside of the post but for a superb stop by Leno, poked over the line by Kalidou Koulibaly.
A brief bit of respite for the beleaguered Potter? No such luck. Chalobah was nowhere to be found and Kepa watched the ball sail above him as Carlos Vinicius powered in Fulham’s second after a visionary cross from Pereira.
That's a horror tackle
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 12, 2023
João Félix is shown a straight red on his Chelsea debut… pic.twitter.com/jn3MKtoHwn
It is easy to lambast Felix upon his introduction to English football. His link-up play was impressive, but his finishing was poor. He lashed one attempt wide after Tete had left him in space. With even more freedom for his second chance, he could not connect properly with a long ball and sent it into orbit with the outside of his boot. But when the alternatives on the bench were Hakim Ziyech and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and not one of them has proved a consistent answer to Chelsea’s problems, you can see why Potter entrusted the newbie – he knows the Blues have not signed a goal machine, but cannot have envisaged his first appearance panning out like this.
When the fates collide so decidedly against a manager so decidedly as they seem to be in Potter’s realm, even Felix’s initial promise can have brought little joy. The injuries are one thing; another is the signing he almost certainly did not ask for, who now won’t be available anyway, as he wrestles for his job.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/QknZPNE
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