Chelsea’s Joao Felix had a nightmare debut when he was sent off in a 2-1 Premier League defeat at local rivals Fulham on Thursday, adding to manager Graham Potter’s pressure.
The Portugal forward looked sharp one day after joining Fulham on loan from Atletico Madrid, but he was shown a straight red card in the 58th minute for a reckless tackle on Fulham defender Kenny Tete with the score tied at 1-1.
Fulham took advantage of the man advantage when Brazilian forward Carlos Vinicius, who was filling in for the club’s suspended top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic, put the hosts back in front with a clever header in the 73rd minute.
Former Chelsea winger Willian put Marco Silva’s side ahead with a deflected shot in the first half, but Potter’s team equalized early in the second half with a scrappy goal from close range by defender Kalidou Koulibaly.
Kai Havertz had a late chance to equalize with a stinging effort, but Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno was equal to it, and Marco Silva’s side held on to win their first league game against Chelsea in 17 years.
Fulham moved above Liverpool into sixth place in the Premier League standings with 31 points after 19 games.
Chelsea is 10th in the table with 25 points from 18 games after suffering its eighth league defeat of the season and third consecutive loss in all competitions.
“We started well, we had a really good chance early on, but mistakes led to their goal, we responded well, and then the red card changes the game and makes it more difficult for us,” Potter explained to BT Sport.
“We could have done better with the goal, and that cost us.”
Potter had no complaints about the red card, describing Felix’s challenge on Tete as a “forward’s tackle”.
Fulham manager Marco Silva was pleased with his team’s tenacity.
LIVELY FELIX
Potter’s side were thrashed 4-0 by Manchester City in the FA Cup on Sunday, but they made a promising start at Craven Cottage, with Felix looking lively. He cut through Fulham’s left side to set up Lewis Hall in the area, but Leno saved the shot.
Felix had two shots on goal, but Fulham took the lead thanks to two Chelsea defensive gaffes: Hall giving away possession and Trevor Chalobah deflecting Willian’s shot into the net.
Chelsea showed character by responding quickly after the break, with Koulibaly pouncing on a rebound after Leno had saved Mason Mount’s shot.
However, it lost midfielder Denis Zakaria to injury and Felix to a red card after the 23-year-old lunged at Tete after losing the ball.
Felix, who cost Chelsea a reported 9 million pounds ($11 million) on loan, will be suspended for the next three league games against Crystal Palace, Liverpool, and Fulham.
