Rogers and Palmer shine as Chelsea beat Fulham at Craven Cottage
Morgan Rogers scored on his Chelsea debut and Cole Palmer delivered a standout performance as Chelsea beat Fulham at Craven Cottage in the Premier League on 24 August 2026.
Joao Pedro opened the scoring after 31 seconds before Fulham's Josh King levelled; Chelsea's £117m signing Morgan Rogers put the visitors back in front in the 41st minute and Cole Palmer added what looked like a third early in the second half, only for debutant Gonzalo Garcia to pull one back for Fulham before Chelsea held on to start the season with a win.
Fulham's goalkeeper Bernd Leno was given a 5; the report said he "was not particularly at fault for any of Chelsea's goals but still couldn't stop them." Right-back Timothy Castagne received a 6 after setting up King's goal and having a shot that led to Fulham's second, while Jorge Cuenca was marked 4 for a poor clearance and a mistimed tackle that contributed to Chelsea's opening goal. Calvin Bassey was rated 5 and Antonee Robinson 6, Robinson making an important early block from a Rogers effort and delivering an excellent first-half cross but later being caught out on the counter and missing a one-on-one with Sanchez in the 77th minute.
Midfield and attack for Fulham were mixed: Sander Berge 5, Josh King 8 — described as the standout performer who created chances, posed a threat before scoring the equaliser and nearly scored again from range in the 73rd minute — Alex Iwobi 6, Oscar Bobb 7 for direct running down the right, Gonzalo Garcia 7 on his debut with a close-range second-half header, and Cesar Palacios 5. Substitutes included Shea Charles (on 67, Bobb) rated 6 for producing dangerous long balls, Kevin (on 73, Palacios) 5, Ryan Sessegnon (on 73, Berge) 6, Rodrigo Muniz (on 82, Robinson) 5; unused subs were listed as Lecomte, De Gougerolles, Tete, Reed, Kevin, Smith Rowe.
Chelsea's goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was rated 3 after an early kicking error that gifted Fulham a corner, failing to stop King's near-post equaliser and parrying a save that led to Garcia's goal. Defender Josh Acheampong was given a 6, while Maxence Lacroix received a 7 and was noted as being involved in both of Chelsea's first two goals — his headed clearance led to the opener and his run and cut-back set up Rogers. Levi Colwill was rated 5 after an early foul that drew only a yellow and partial responsibility for Fulham's second; Malo Gusto 5, Romeo Lavia 5, Reece James 6 and Jorrel Hato 6 were also assessed for the defensive and midfield performance.
In attack, Cole Palmer earned a 9 with the report calling him the game's best player for creativity, physicality, dribbling and scoring an "excellent third goal." Morgan Rogers was rated 8 for an "outstanding debut," pressing aggressively, creating chances and finishing the second goal with a far-post strike; Joao Pedro was given an 8 for his 31-second opener and for exploiting Fulham's high line to set up Palmer's goal. Enzo Fernandez came on (on 65, Lavia) and was rated 6 amid boos from the home crowd, Pep Chavarria (on 65, Hato) 5, Pedro Neto (on 76, Gusto) 5, Geovany Quenda (on 82, Rogers) 5 and Estevao (on 83, Palmer) 5; unused Chelsea substitutes were Penders, Barco, Gittens and Welbeck.
Chelsea held on to register a season-opening victory at Craven Cottage, the visitors starting the campaign with a win.
