Our 3️⃣ points after Chelsea return to winning ways against Fulham | OneFootball

Chelsea finally recorded their first away win of the Premier League season against local rivals Fulham.

Two quickfire first-half goals from Mykhailo Mudryk and Armando Broja were enough to earn Mauricio Pochettino’s side all three points.

Here’s what we made of the first West London Derby of the season at Craven Cottage.

Signs of recovery or another false dawn?

When Chelsea raced into a two-goal lead in the space of barely a minute, fans started to believe that their team was finally showing signs of recovery.

Even by the low bar of previous seasons, Mauricio Pochettino’s opening weeks have been anything other than plain sailing with just one Premier League win.

They now have another but consolidating a comfortable first-half lead against a profligate Fulham is by no means an accurate barometer of their quality.

Neither is Saturday’s trip to a struggling Burnley which precedes a more unenviable run that includes the English top flight’s great and good.

Tottenham, Manchester City, Newcastle, Brighton and Manchester United all lie in wait for the Blues following this month’s international break.

A glimpse of the ‘real’ Chelsea was evident at Craven Cottage but whether this is a return to form or yet another false dawn still remains to be seen.

Cottagers come up short

A West London Derby beneath the lights should have been the perfect platform for Fulham to deliver a genuine statement of intent.

Yet Marco Silva’s side massively fluffed their lines despite proving themselves relative equals to their currently underperforming neighbours.

Issa Diop was caught in No Man’s Land trying to intercept Levi Colwill’s assist for Mykhailo Mudryk while Tim Ream’s errant pass out gifted Chelsea a second.

At the other end, too, the Cottagers came up short as wastefulness, typified by Saša Lukić’s tame effort, failed to force their visitors into a potentially nervy finale.

Barring another nosedive in their part of the capital, Fulham are unlikely to be neck-and-neck with Chelsea by the season’s end after this missed opportunity.

Mudryk finally off the mark

Mudryk ending his wait for a first Chelsea goal not only broke that lengthy duck but also condemned a long-running meme to the social media graveyard.

Failing to hit the target had been a greater millstone around the Ukraine international’s neck than the hefty price tag that secured his January move to Stamford Bridge.

All the ingredients to finally get off the mark had always been there in dispatches and all came together as Bernd Leno was rendered powerless to stop his long-awaited opener.

One goal from 24 games in all competitions might not scream clinical but after the difficulty of getting up and running, it’s only a matter of time before Mudryk builds on that tally.