Attacking returns for Hazard and Higuain as Fulham show fight

Gonzalo Higuain and Eden Hazard were among the Fantasy Premier League points-scorers at Craven Cottage as Chelsea edged past Fulham in the west London derby.

The pair’s FPL returns – eight and six points respectively – were modest given how porous Fulham have been at the back in 2019 but were a relative success story after a grim Gameweek 29 for other premium Fantasy assets.

The Cottagers, meanwhile, showed plenty of spirit under their interim boss, Scott Parker.

We round up the goals, assists, manager quotes and Fantasy talking points in the Scout Notes article below.

Fulham 1-2 Chelsea

• Goals: Calum Chambers (£4.2m) | Gonzalo Higuain (£9.6m), Jorginho (£4.6m)
• Assists: Ryan Babel (£5.5m) | Cesar Azpilicueta (£6.3m), Eden Hazard (£10.8m)

Chelsea’s mini-resurgence continued on Sunday as they got the better of their west London rivals at Craven Cottage.

The stats point to an encouraging display, with the Blues ranking first or second among Premier League teams for goal attempts, shots in the box and efforts on target in Gameweek 29 – the fact that none of their attempts were deemed “big chances” by Opta shouldn’t disguise the fact that there were some presentable opportunities among them.

Those sorts of figures may have been expected given how leaky Fulham’s backline have been of late but Sunday’s clash was perhaps a trickier test than it would have been with Claudio Ranieri in the home dugout, as the Cottagers showed a lot of heart under interim boss Scott Parker.

There were encouraging signs early in the match as Eden Hazard (£10.8m), Gonzalo Higuain (£9.6m) and Willian (£7.1m) made inroads into the Fulham defence, though fatigue seemed to catch up with the visitors late on after a busy week of EFL Cup and Premier League action.

Hazard looked particularly tired in the second half and was replaced on 74 minutes, having also been handed a half-hour breather on Wednesday against Spurs.

The hope for existing and prospective owners is that Chelsea’s key assets get a further rest on Thursday night when they take on Dynamo Kyiv, with the Gameweek 30 encounter with Wolves taking place less than 72 hours after that.

Maurizio Sarri acknowledged that tiredness was a factor in the final half hour at Fulham, saying:

We played very well for 60 minutes. We could have killed the match with a third goal. We didn’t kill the match and then in the last 20, 25 minutes we were very tired, physically but also mentally.

In seven days we played 120 minutes in a difficult match against City, we played 90 very expensive minutes against Tottenham, and today a very important derby against a team with a new coach. It was a very difficult match.

So very good for 60 minutes, then very tired, but it was a normal reaction to our seven days.

Higuain opened the scoring on 19 minutes with a fine finish from a Cesar Azpilicueta (£6.3m) cross and impressed with his movement, though should have found the back of the net either side of that strike.

The former Juventus striker nodded a superb Hazard cross wide early on then wasted a through-ball from the Belgian when stumbling in the box, before blazing high over the bar when found by a chipped Jorginho (£4.6m) pass.

Higuain nearly scored a carbon copy of his first goal just before half-time then fired wide when following up a spilt Willian shot after the break.

Hazard produced two trademark runs and shots – both comfortably dealt with by Sergio Rico (£4.4m) – either side of half-time, while he teed up Jorginho for Chelsea’s winner and supplemented his assist with one bonus point.

Hazard, Willian and Higuain racked up 16 shots and 22 penalty box touches between them at Craven Cottage on Sunday.

Goal aside, Jorginho produced a much better performance in central midfield and left the pitch to the sound of Chelsea fans signing his name.

Sarri said of the Italy international:

I’m very happy for him. He scored, but my opinion of Jorginho is the same. He is a great player, one of the best in Europe in that position. For him, it’s not easy the first season in a new team. Today, he was very tired in the last part of the match. We were lucky Kovacic entered very well on the pitch.

In that position, we had some problems. We are trying during training with Kovacic and his answer was very good.

A better team than Fulham might be able to nullify Jorginho and Chelsea again, of course, but Antonio Rudiger (£5.9m) said his manager has learned a few lessons in recent weeks:

He learned from that [league] game against Manchester City. There we went high, we went to press, we wanted to win the ball and everyone knows what happened.

In life, you need to adapt to things. This league is different to Italy; you have to adjust a bit. I think everyone has adapted to new things, also the coach.

You saw the way we played against Tottenham and Manchester City. It was different to the way we played in the first three months. Everyone needs to adapt, everyone needs to learn and it is good that it has happened in this moment.

Rudiger was partnered by Andreas Christensen (£5.0m) for the west London derby as David Luiz (£5.9m) was handed a rest, while rotation continued in the left-back department as Marcos Alonso (£6.4m) made way for Emerson Palmieri (£5.2m).

There was also a change in goal made by Sarri, as Kepa Arrizabalaga (£5.2m) made a swift return between the sticks at the expense of Willy Caballero (£4.7m).

The Spanish custodian made two crucial stops from Aleksandar Mitrovic (£6.5m), the first a flying tip over from the Serbian striker’s stinging volley and the second a diving stop from a header late in the game.

Sarri said of Kepa’s display:

[He played] very well. It was a normal decision [to play him]. Kepa made a big mistake, he paid with the club and the team, and now the situation is closed.

Kepa is a man. He understood. His behaviour this week was very good. His reaction today was very good. I know the man. He is very clever, with a very good mentality. He made a mistake on a misunderstanding, but now it’s enough.

Also now I know very well Caballero is a very important goalkeeper and a very important man for our group and our dressing room. I have to find space also for him.

Parker made only one change for his first match in charge of the Cottagers, bringing in Ryan Sessegnon (£6.0m) for Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (£4.4m).

The hosts looked much better in Parker’s 4-2-3-1 than they had under Ranieri in recent weeks, with Tom Cairney (£4.6m) playing behind Mitrovic and Sessegnon and Ryan Babel (£5.5m) providing the width.

It was from Babel’s cross that Calum Chambers (£4.2m) pulled Fulham level and it was ample reward for the hosts’ lively start at the Cottage.

The Dutchman would have had a goal of his own, too, had he not turned his back on play and missed seeing Kepa spill a cross.

Joe Bryan (£4.8m) also went close with a couple of curling efforts, while Sessegnon had a late strike chalked off for a marginal offside.

Cairney was excellent in “the hole” and backed Parker to get the job on a permanent basis:

If that is what he can do in a few days I wonder what he could do in six months, eight months? 

I would like to see him given a chance. I speak on behalf of everyone, he is so highly regarded at the club. He has been immense. 

Parker said in his post-match presser that he wanted to “free up” Fulham’s players and gave his thoughts on Sessegnon after the match:

I’ve known Sess since he was a 16-year-old boy, shy and quiet training with us, but his talent was there from day one.

I’ve been there at 18. Everyone feels as if it’s on top of you. He’s had the weight on his shoulders the last few months, and he hasn’t been playing well.

That can be for a number of reasons: a young boy playing in a tough league, and I just tried to free him up. I said it to all of them. I don’t care what mistakes they make.

While Fulham conceded yet another two goals in a Premier League fixture (they have shipped 22 in 2019 at an average of 2.44 per match), the evidence on Sunday suggests Leicester may have a trickier time than anticipated when the Cottagers visit the King Power Stadium next weekend.

Parker said of his side’s overall efforts:

We didn’t stamp authority on the game in the first half in terms of possession. Second half was amazing, amazing. It’s not just about the passion, effort, desire and character because I understand that only gets you so far in football.

It’s a foundation and a base, that’s what we need and very great clubs has that but there’s also an element of skill. I know how good these players are and, in the second half, they showed that at times.

Fulham XI (4-2-3-1): Rico; Odoi, Nordtveit, Ream, Bryan; Chambers, McDonald (Anguissa 62′); Babel (Ayite 71′), Cairney (Vietto 80′), Sessegnon; Mitrovic.

Chelsea XI (4-3-3): Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Christensen, Emerson; Kante, Jorginho (Kovacic 68′), Barkley (Loftus-Cheek 79′); Willian, Higuain, Hazard (Pedro 73′).