Xabi Alonso came to Craven Cottage hoping for another Premier League first. Twenty-two years earlier, he bagged his first English top-flight goal for Liverpool. Against a former Reds team-mate striving for the same goal in Alvaro Arbeloa, he made another happy memory on his managerial bow.
Most pictured his return to England to come with Liverpool; Chelsea fans already seem grateful he's landed in London. While far from the perfect performance, victory in a five-goal thriller against Fulham brought a lot of encouragement.
A mixture of big spending and summer snubs seems to have forged one of the most dangerous attacking front threes in the league. Morgan Rogers showed signs he was worthy of his £117m price tag. Cole Palmer, with a point to prove after his World Cup omission, suddenly looked like a real problem again after what was, by his standards, a dud of a season. His link-up with Joao Pedro took effect within 31 seconds.
Chelsea's front three stole the show against Fulham (Reuters)
"They are going to be a very important part of the team," recognised Alonso, who now wants the trio's team-mates to reach the level they exhibited on Monday night. "To build [the team] around them, no. To build the team with them. They need to take responsibility, they need to lead the rest, they need to inspire the rest, because if they do great, the other ones will follow.
#goal #need
Most pictured his return to England to come with Liverpool; Chelsea fans already seem grateful he's landed in London. While far from the perfect performance, victory in a five-goal thriller against Fulham brought a lot of encouragement.
A mixture of big spending and summer snubs seems to have forged one of the most dangerous attacking front threes in the league. Morgan Rogers showed signs he was worthy of his £117m price tag. Cole Palmer, with a point to prove after his World Cup omission, suddenly looked like a real problem again after what was, by his standards, a dud of a season. His link-up with Joao Pedro took effect within 31 seconds.
Chelsea's front three stole the show against Fulham (Reuters)
"They are going to be a very important part of the team," recognised Alonso, who now wants the trio's team-mates to reach the level they exhibited on Monday night. "To build [the team] around them, no. To build the team with them. They need to take responsibility, they need to lead the rest, they need to inspire the rest, because if they do great, the other ones will follow.
#goal #need
12 days ago
