Cole Palmer stars as Xabi Alonso opens Chelsea account with thrilling 3-2 win at Fulham
Cole Palmer scored one and made another as Chelsea beat Fulham 3-2 at Craven Cottage, giving new manager Xabi Alonso his first Premier League win at the first attempt (BBC Sport).
A sold-out Craven Cottage, basking in a mild 20-degree evening at kick-off, witnessed a five-goal thriller to open the 2026/27 Premier League season for both sides (Fulham FC). The 8pm kick-off, shown live on Sky, delivered exactly the kind of night football fans hope for when the fixture list throws together two west London neighbours.
Palmer, operating as Chelsea's creative hub, found the net himself and then teed up Joao Pedro for a goal of his own. The details of the full scoring sequence belong to the match report, but Palmer's fingerprints were all over Chelsea's attacking play — the player Alonso had singled out 24 hours earlier as "world class," backing the forward to produce his very best football this season (Chelsea FC).
For Alonso, this was an ideal beginning. Appointed to steer Chelsea after his exploits in European management, the Spanish coach arrived with a reputation for possession-based, high-control football — a style built on patient build-up and pressing high up the pitch. A first Premier League win, away from home, against a Fulham side managed by Alvaro Arbeloa — a familiar face from Liverpool's playing days and now a rival in the dugout — gives Alonso immediate footing in English football's most demanding league.
Fulham pushed hard enough to score twice and keep the contest alive until the end, but Chelsea's quality in the final third, channelled through Palmer, proved the difference.
Alonso's team selection had a few talking points. The Chelsea manager confirmed beforehand that the club had no fresh injury concerns, but Marco Palestra and Moises Caicedo were both absent from the matchday squad — decisions Alonso explained by pointing to each player's specific circumstances rather than any new fitness setback (Chelsea FC).
The absences meant Alonso had to improvise in midfield, and he will have been encouraged by how his side coped without Caicedo — a defensive midfielder whose job is to shield the back line and win the ball back quickly — against a Fulham team playing in front of their own supporters.
For fans of both clubs, this was a fixture that delivered on its promise. Chelsea supporters travel home with three points, a debut win for their new manager, and the confirmation — if it were needed — that Palmer remains the player most likely to make something happen when the game is tight. Fulham fans will feel their side contributed fully to an entertaining contest and were left chasing a goal that, on another night, might have come.
One game does not define a season. But Alonso could not have asked for a better start, and Palmer could not have made his manager's faith look better placed.
