Joao Felix lasted just under an hour into his Chelsea debut against Fulham on Thursday before being shown a straight red card for a nasty tackle.
Kenny Tete was on the receiving end of a high challenge from the loanee, who started the game despite only signing from Atletico Madrid a day earlier. Chelsea had pulled one back through Kalidou Koulibaly just after the break following Willian’s first-half opener against his former club, before Felix signed his debut off in disastrous fashion, leaving his new side in trouble.
It didn’t take the home side long to utilise the man advantage, as Carlos Vinicius scored his first goal for Fulham on 73 minutes to put his team back in front. As if the result wasn’t bad enough for Graham Potter and Chelsea, Felix’s straight red card means he will be forced to miss the Blues’ next three matches. Add to that the injury woes of Denis Zakaria just minutes before the Portuguese’s dismissal, and the Blues’ squad looks threadbare, with nine first-team players already out injured.
Potter will do his best to ignore mounting pressure when he leads them out at home against Crystal Palace on Sunday, with their faint top four hopes in deep trouble.
Goal
