Felix's 58-minute Chelsea debut had instant impact, fouls and moment of madness
For 57 minutes it had been going rather well. It was not shaping up to be a perfect debut but considering he had only one training session to get acquainted with his new Chelsea team-mates, Joao Felix had at least introduced some life to an attack that recently looked completely out of ideas.
Then the 23–year-old, who joined on loan from Atletico Madrid on Wednesday morning, produced a moment of recklessness that may not be matched by any other Premier League player for the remainder of the season.
There was a look of shock on Felix’s face as David Coote waved a red card in his face. It cannot have been at the fact he was being sent off, for there cannot be a more obvious dismissal, but at the tackle he had just made.
It was a potential leg-breaker, even if the challenge was made out of enthusiasm to retrieve a loose ball rather than malicious intent, and Kenny Tete should count himself very fortunate that he was able to continue after the Portuguese planted the studs of his right boot on the middle of the Fulham defender’s leg with sufficient force to cause damage.
Felix was waved off by a Fulham crowd that chanted “what a waste of money” and it came at a time in the match when Chelsea were ascendant, ten minutes on from pulling level through Kalidou Koulibaly.
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Instead they departed Craven Cottage licking fresh wounds, analysing a third straight defeat and six from the past eight, seven from ten in all competitions.
Fulham had last beaten their neighbours in March 2006. The most recent win before that came in 1979 and Marco Silva’s side now find themselves six points clear of a club that the Craven Cottage boss rightly stated before kick-off still has financial muscle that they cannot compete with in the transfer market.
(BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)It is a result that piles further pressure on Graham Potter, regardless of the intention and commitment from Chelsea’s hierarchy to view his appointment as part of a long-term project.
Potter will be more than justified to point to issues beyond his control, not least a decimated squad. But the players who are fit simply have to be better than this. The atmosphere at home to Crystal Palace on Sunday may easily turn toxic if the reaction from the away end at full time here is anything to go by.
Before the red card, Felix’s introduction looked like it was helping matters - even if Fulham scored the opening goal, through former Chelsea winger Willian - but the visitors' patched-together XI looked disjointed and, on occasion, downright sloppy.
To put Chelsea’s injury problems into scale consider this: Felix became their 27th player used in the league already this season and they still have one game to go before reaching the midway point. Last season 26 featured across the entire campaign.
(Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)It has been impossible for Potter to put out a settled side from one game to the next and the toll that takes should not be underplayed.
The injuries have affected every area too: from Edouard Mendy in goal to both first-choice full backs and centre half Wesley Fofana; the midfield has been without N’Golo Kante since mid-August while Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic have lightened the attacking options.
Speaking to BT Sport about his decision to start Felix, Potter summed up the need for reinforcements. "Physically he is ok, obviously he is in adaptation time which is not optimal,” the head coach said. “But with the quality he has, we thought it was the right decision to put him in."
Joao Felix was serenaded by the Chelsea fans at Craven Cottage - before his debut turned ugly. (BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)Felix kept it simple with his first couple of touches, making a pair of straightforward passes sideways and backwards. But he then came alive down the right to create the game’s opening chance with only 1:47 on the clock.
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Cesar Azpilicueta fed him with a nicely-weighted through ball and the Portuguese showed nice feet and a burst of pace before nutmegging Tim Ream and squaring to Kai Havertz, who had his shot blocked. One thing could be said with certainty: he was not daunted by his new environment.
That lively start left some Fulham players dazed as they struggled with his unpredictable movement.
Graham Potter has an increasing number of problems to solve at Chelsea. (Getty Images)Twice in the first 14 minutes Felix used his agility to draw cynical fouls near halfway that led to yellow cards - the first from Antonee Robinson, the second Andreas Pereira.
By the end of his 57 minutes, Felix was fouled four times having received a level of attention normally reserved for the likes of Jack Grealish and Wilf Zaha.
Yet it was the foul he committed, tenfold more dangerous than any of those he was the recipient of, that will be remembered.
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