Alonso wins on Stamford Bridge debut as Palmer, Rogers and Joao Pedro score in 3-2 win at Fulham
Xabi Alonso began his Stamford Bridge reign with a 3-2 Premier League win at west London rivals Fulham on Monday as Chelsea's new-look front three — Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro — all found the net, while goalkeeper Robert Sanchez made costly errors.
Alonso's side saw their attack dominate the match after the summer arrival of Rogers, a club-record £117m signing from Aston Villa, and the return to form of Palmer following a difficult period. Palmer, who had been omitted from England's World Cup squad, supplied the assist for Joao Pedro's opener and claimed Chelsea's third goal, prompting praise from manager Alonso that the forwards must "lead the rest" so "the other ones will follow".
Joao Pedro opened the scoring after just 31 seconds, latching on to a pass from Palmer and lifting his shot over Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno for Chelsea's fastest goal since October 2016. Fulham levelled through Josh King, a strike that went straight through Sanchez, and Rogers marked his Chelsea debut by tapping in before half-time. Palmer completed the scoring for Chelsea with their third goal, setting up a 3-2 finish.
Palmer's display underlined a return to the form he showed early at Stamford Bridge; the match report notes his trickery, creativity and work-rate and that he matched last season's Premier League assist tally by setting up Joao Pedro. On his condition over the summer he told Sky Sports: "Over the summer I rested, I recharged and, yeah, I'm ready and I'm hungry," and the piece states he is now two goals away from 50 in the Premier League.
Rogers, whose pre-season was shortened by England's run to third place at the World Cup, reunited with former Manchester City team-mate Palmer and described him as his "best friend in football" while praising his readiness. Rogers became the first Chelsea player to score on his Premier League debut since Christopher Nkunku in 2023 and the first to create five chances in his first league appearance since records began in 2003-04, with supporters also singing a new Rogers chant in the away end.
Concerns over Sanchez were detailed after two errors led to Fulham goals: he allowed King's low strike to go through him and then parried Timothy Castagne's shot into a dangerous area for Gonzalo Garcia to head in. The match report adds Sanchez also conceded a corner by failing to clear the ball before it ran out of play and was later unconvincing when coming off his line to deal with a long ball, with Antonee Robinson missing the target. Jamie Carragher commented on Sky Sports that Palmer, Rogers and Joao Pedro are "as good as anything in the Premier League right now" and warned they "will never win the league with Sanchez in goal," while Gary Neville said: "Cole Palmer was sensational."
Alonso addressed the mistakes by stressing collective responsibility: "We need to accept and learn from them [the mistakes]," he said. He added, "This is going to be a process. All the lines, from the strikers, the midfielders, the defence, the goalkeepers, we want to do better in everything." He had earlier said in his pre-match news conference: "The pitch is the boss of everything. I don't decide. The players need to show me." The manager also confirmed number two Mike Penders, 21, is waiting to make his debut after returning from a loan spell at Strasbourg.
With the transfer window still open, the article notes many Chelsea fans will be asking whether the club need a new first-choice goalkeeper, a point reinforced by Carragher's assessment that "They have to sort the goalkeeping issue out because it's going to come back and haunt them again this season as it did tonight."
