Chelsea made a winning start to life under Xabi Alonso as they defeated Fulham 3-2 in a thrilling contest at Craven Cottage.
Joao Pedro required just 31 seconds to open the scoring as the Brazilian forward timed his run perfectly to collect Cole Palmer's pass and escape the clutches of Jorge Cuenca before producing a sublime lofted finish over Bernd Leno.
Fulham restored parity after 23 minutes when an incisive Fulham move enabled Josh King to unleash an effort, and his strike fizzed past the wrong-footed Robert Sanchez at his near post.
In a contest where exhilarating attacking play and vulnerable defences combined, Chelsea reclaimed their lead through summer recruits Maxence Lacroix and Morgan Rogers, with the former entering the penalty area and cutting back for the former Aston Villa man to finish.
Chelsea come out of the blocks sharply in the second half and they were rewarded as a clinical counter attack saw Joao Pedro approach Fulham's penalty area before feeding Palmer, who fired across goal to open his account for the season.
But the visitors' lead was reduced within five minutes as Sanchez spilled a Timothy Castagne shot into the path of Garcia and the Spanish striker produced an instinctive finish for his first Fulham goal.
The Cottagers continued to threaten a porous Chelsea rearguard as both Antonee Robinson and King went close to hauling Fulham level, but the Blues held on to begin their new chapter with an encouraging victory.
Fulham v Chelsea Timeline
1' - Goal for Chelsea! Scored by Joao Pedro, assisted by Cole Palmer.
5' - Yellow card for Levi Colwill.
12' - Yellow card for Romeo Lavia.
23' - Goal for Fulham! Scored by Josh King, assisted by Timothy Castagne.
41' - Goal for Chelsea! Scored by Morgan Rogers, assisted by Maxence Lacroix.
49' - Goal for Chelsea! Scored by Cole Palmer, assisted by Joao Pedro.
54' - Goal for Fulham! Scored by Gonzalo Garcia.
65' - Enzo Fernandez replaced Romeo Lavia, Pep Chavarria replaced Jorrel Hato.
66' - Shea Charles replaced Oscar Bobb.
73' - Kevin replaced Cesar Palacios, Ryan Sessegnon replaced Sander Berge.
75' - Yellow card for Reece James.
76' - Pedro Neto replaced Malo Gusto.
76' - Yellow card for Calvin Bassey.
82' - Rodrigo Muniz replaced Antonee Robinson.
83' - Geovany Quenda replaced Morgan Rogers, Estevao replaced Cole Palmer.
88' - Yellow card for Timothy Castagne.
Fulham v Chelsea Match Stats
Fulham | Chelsea | |
61% | Possession | 39% |
1.36 | Expected Goals (xG) | 1.70 |
14 | Shots | 18 |
6 | Shots on Target | 6 |
3 | Goalkeeper Saves | 4 |
2 | Big Chances | 4 |
6 | Corners | 4 |
619 | Total Passes | 391 |
86% | Pass Accuracy | 82% |
16 | Successful Tackles | 14 |
17 | Clearances | 22 |
2 | Yellow Cards | 3 |
0 | Red Cards | 0 |
