Racing through the Boxing Day Scout Notes at terrifying leg speeds, it’s now the turn of Chelsea 1-2 Fulham to fall under the spotlight.
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CHELSEA ROTATION THREAT AVERTED – BUT ONLY TEMPORARILY?
A midweek finally passed without Enzo Maresca rolling out mass changes.
The Chelsea boss made only one expected alteration, bringing back Marc Cucurella (£5.2m) after suspension. Axel Disasi (£4.2m) made way.
But while Gameweek 18 was a largely rotation-free zone, expect Ipswich Town away on Monday to be different.
“Now it’s also important to recover energy and to go again on Monday and then if we’re going to make one change or two changes or three changes, we see. Now it’s a bit early but for sure we are going to change something.” – Enzo Maresca on the trip to Ipswich Town
JACKSON “A BIT TIRED”
Maresca not only largely stuck with the same XI but only made one substitution, bringing Christopher Nkunku (£5.8m) on for Nicolas Jackson (£8.3m).
Does lots of 90-minute run-outs increase the likelihood of rotation on Monday? Or does it hint at Maresca not being overly enamoured with the options on the bench?
The Chelsea boss explained his lack of tinkering, also reasoning that Jackson was a “bit tired”.
“Since we start, you know that we try to make change when we see that the ones that are playing, they are not doing enough.
“But I think tonight the ones that were playing, they were doing very good. Even Nico [Jackson] but probably because he was sprinting a lot, he was a bit tired, so we decided to change. But the rest, I think Pedro [Neto] until the last minutes he was doing well, Jadon [Sancho] was doing well, Cole [Palmer] was doing well, Moi [Caicedo] and Enzo [Fernandez] both very good. So, change for change I don’t think is worth it.” – Enzo Maresca
WHY MADUEKE MISSED OUT
Despite the Chelsea bench containing two goalkeepers and a handful of rookies, there was no Noni Madueke (£6.3m).
Maresca explained why after the game.
“No [issue in training or in the Everton game], it’s just a technical decision. Sometimes we take some decisions and it’s no more than that.
“Yeah, for sure, for sure [he will be in contention for Ipswich].
“For sure, the competition has to be high but not only Noni Madueke was out, Renato Veiga was also not in the squad, and the reason is exactly the same for both of them. There is not any different reason. It’s just a technical decision.” – Enzo Maresca on why Noni Madueke was not involved
BIG-GAME FULHAM
It looked like business as usual for Chelsea for the first two-thirds of this game.
Cole Palmer (£11.3m) bounced back from two blanks with a superbly taken goal, firing off four shots in the first 33 minutes alone.
Marc Cucurella (£5.2m) had a superb headed chance to double the lead, while Enzo Fernandez (£5.1m) – who didn’t record one penalty box touch – and Jadon Sancho (£6.1m) drew excellent saves from Bernd Leno (£5.0m).
Levi Colwill (£4.6m) also threatened a haul. Having assisted Palmer’s goal, he saw a strike of his own chalked off for offside – and then his clean sheet went.
Never discount Fulham’s ability to make life difficult for the top teams. Liverpool, Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United and now Chelsea – aka the Premier League’s top five – have all failed to beat the Cottagers. Silva’s side handed Aston Villa and Manchester City huge scares, too.
The pressure grew and grew for the visitors, eventually telling when substitutes Harry Wilson (£5.2m) and Rodrigo Muniz (£5.5m) turned the game on its head in the final eight minutes.
With Muniz scoring again and relatively rested after substitute duty, you fear for Raul Jimenez‘s (£5.5m) starting prospects on Sunday.
ROBINSON OOP
Joachim Andersen (£4.2m) didn’t need to oust Issa Diop (£4.4m) from the side in the end – he played alongside him, with Calvin Bassey (£4.5m) operating as a sort of left-back/centre-half hybrid.
That saw Antonee Robinson (£4.9m) unleashed almost as a left winger even further up the flank.
The cheaper Timothy Castagne (£4.2m) claimed an assist for Muniz’s winner but Robinson really should have added to his own attacking returns collection.
Muniz earlier had a header saved from a Robinson cross.
The American international had the biggest Fulham chance of the game himself, unable to convert from six yards out when unmarked.
This may have been a horses-for-courses selection – Silva said afterward that a lack of fit central midfielders was part of the reason why he opted for three centre-halves – but at least we know Robinson’s threat won’t be diminished too much even if he’s back at left-back in Gameweek 19.
