Chelsea prove Carragher right and Eghbali wrong as Palmer’s genius isn’t enough against the brilliant Fulham

Chelsea were naive against a very good Fulham side and Behdad Eghbali may change his mind about the need for new additions in January. Plus, Cole Palmer is a wonder.

Cole Palmer is now so good at football that shooting is beneath him. He took his already delightful level of nonchalance to a new level with a Boxing Day treat for the home fans at Stamford Bridge, probably a significant proportion of the away fans and everyone watching at home.

If the Premier League has produced robot footballers designed to win, often at the expense of entertainment, Palmer is the antidote to this toxic post-Barclays reality.

Within six minutes of the first half, he saw a shot in the far corner deflected after a nutmeg on the edge of the penalty area, played a superfluous and therefore joyful one-two with Nicolas Jackson in the crowded penalty area, before being blocked again by Bernd Leno and passing it Both examples of his incomparable flair were preceded by a wonderful goal that required puffed cheeks, astonished giggles and the immediate grabbing of devices to tell friends, family and fellow football fans that that they do too I have to see what Chelsea’s genius just did: “Oh, Cole. This is disgusting.’

It was all very Ronaldinho: he received the ball on the half-turn with nimble feet and wonderful balance while overcoming a few challenges. But it was the end – he went through the defender’s legs and into the corner, with just enough speed to prevent the goalkeeper from simply going over and picking up the ball, but not too quickly to avoid Leno looking a bit daft , as he almost had to wait for it to roll past his outstretched fingers after the dive, he almost had to do a double take to check that the scorer wasn’t flowing curls and the hint of had buck teeth that Palmer shares with the Brazilian genius.

A handful of Premier League players could have scored if they had picked up the ball in that pocket, but they would have rolled or shot the ball into the corner instead of rolling it home like Palmer did, and anything but that Finish would have been an unnecessary complication in a game he makes seem absurdly simple.

Marc Cucurella should have doubled Chelsea’s lead but headed Enzo Fernandez’s excellent free-kick straight at Leno. The rejuvenated Argentine then had a lovely shot from the edge of the box which was tipped over by the Fulham goalkeeper.

But his counterpart Robert Sanchez was equally busy, with the pace of Antonee Robinson and Adama Traore on the wings posing a significant threat that Chelsea were unable to contain throughout, while Alex Iwobi continually found space around Moises Caicedo, causing Chelsea further problems.

Fulham almost equalized thanks to a run from Calvin Bassey, which we would have to describe as barreling as he is a centre-back, but in which he showed the light-footedness of a diminutive winger. His shot sparked an excellent save from Sanchez and the Blues goalkeeper was called into action again as he charged out to block Robinson, who had brought Traore’s cross down at the back post.

But the Blues goalkeeper continues to be a major concern for Chelsea and Enzo Maresca, as evidenced by his failure to trick a back pass and almost give Raul Jimenez a goal.

There was never a point where Chelsea felt comfortable and Fulham fully deserved the equaliser, as Robinson’s cross after good work from Iwobi found Timothy Castagne, who headed the ball back over goal for Harry Wilson to nod in off the post.

A genuine title contender – especially at home against a team that hasn’t won at Stamford Bridge since 1979 – would normally push the opposition back at this point and require a back-to-the-wall defense to hold on to a point. That didn’t happen.

Jadon Sancho had a decent shot saved and Nkunku’s acrobatic effort was saved by Leno off the post, but Fulham looked just as likely to take all three points, scoring between those two chances in the 95th minute as Chelsea looked surprised by Fulham’s cheek his seemed like victory when he even tried.

It’s a goal that has done little to dispel it Jamie Carragher’s claim that Maresca does not have a world-class goalkeeper and centre-back to seriously challenge for the title. It’s hardly a hot call, as these weaknesses are clear to the vast majority of pundits and fans, but frustratingly – for those hoping for a title fight – not from the perspective of Behdad Eghbali and the Chelsea hierarchy, who are convinced that the players Maresca has enough available, if not now, then in the future.

Sanchez stormed away from his goal, fired the ball into a group of Fulham players, and from that point until Rodrigo Muniz controlled it and finished brilliantly, no Chelsea player was more than at a trot.

Tosin Adarabioyo was ten yards deeper than fellow centre-back Levi Colwill, who was beaten with a simple pass behind him for Saka Lukic (who was very good throughout) before Tosin neither pushed the ball nor marked either Fulham player in the penalty area.

None of this would have happened if Sánchez had simply passed the ball to Tosin instead of shooting long, but the center backs are just as much to blame for the defeat, considering what they did or didn’t do after that onslaught, blood up to the head .

Although Chelsea showed a lack of experience at key moments and failed to manage the game effectively, this result was due to Fulham’s quality rather than the home side’s naivety. Marco Silva does an excellent job and his team, now eighth and level on points with Manchester Cityare strongly represented in European football.

Playing in the Europa Conference League next season seems more likely than Chelsea winning the title, as Maresca’s need for a top goalkeeper and a center back is obvious to all but the people with the power to make those additions .