Claudio Ranieri suffered his first defeat as Fulham manager as Chelsea battled to a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Pedro stole in on the break to hand the Blues an early lead in the fourth minute but the Cottagers posed a significant threat and went the distance against their much-fancied opponents.
Eden Hazard then laid off a pass for substitute Ruben Loftus-Cheek to score the second from in the 82nd minute.
Here’s a look at how Ranieri fared in the tactical battle with Maurizio Sarri.
BASIC STATS
Goals – 0
Shots – 8
Possession – 34%
Tackles – 22
Dribbles – 9
30-SECOND REPORT
Ranieri tinkered with the formation he employed in his first game in charge which resulted in a stunning 3-2 comeback win over Southampton. The Italian went with a 4-2-3-1 system on that occasion with Aleksandar Mitrovic leading the line on his own.
At Stamford Bridge though, he paired the Serbian with Ryan Sessegnon while Tom Cairney operated in behind, at the tip of a diamond midfield. It ensured the Cottagers had enough firepower and attacking avenues up front while maintaining a compact shape, achieved by a narrow midfield. That shape however offered Marcos Alonso plenty of space to attack down the outside but the Spaniard was all over the shop and disappointed with his delivery.
Jean Michael Seri anchored the midfield and performed relatively well, playing two key passes from that position and making four tackles. Unfortunately, he was also caught in possession by N’Golo Kante who set up Pedro for the opener.
Fulham didn’t let their heads drop though and kept challenging Chelsea. Utilising Calum Chambers in midfield was an inspired move with the centre-back by trade injecting some much-needed steel in the middle of the park. He made a a game-high seven tackles and also intercepted three times.
The visitors only seemed to improve after the break owing to a couple of substitutions from the manager before they conceded a second in the closing stages while in the hunt for an equaliser.
Seri lost out to Kante for the first goal.
TACTICAL TALKING POINT
Direct play
A hallmark of Ranieri’s Leicester City side was their ability to strike against the run of play. They did that by going from back to front quickly and efficiently. There’s now a hint of that style creeping into Fulham’s game now.
The decision to play two strikers was a conscious move in that direction and they did get some joy from that. The direct running and physicality of Mitrovic worked well while Ranieri’s substitution of Ryan Sessegnon for Aboubakar Kamara added more bite to the attack.
Fulham’s direct style had Chelsea pinned back as well, limiting their own forays into the away side’s territory. It was the right ploy to bypass the Blues’ press and try to test their suspect defence. If not for some decent saves from Kepa Arrizabalaga, they may well have been rewarded.
Aleksandar Mitrovic (L) was a handful.
VERDICT
When Fulham went a goal down away to Chelsea in the fourth minute, many of the travelling fans would’ve thought, “here we go again”. But they had started the brighter of the two teams and were unlucky to go behind through an individual error.
Ranieri’s instant impact on the team is evident in the way they didn’t crumble but pushed Chelsea all the way. His tactics gave the home side plenty to think about.
Rating 6/10
