Fulham 2-3 Chelsea: Palmer, Rogers and Joao Pedro star as Alonso starts with a win

Chelsea got off to a winning start under Xabi Alonso as goals from Joao Pedro, Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer clinched a 3-2 win over local rivals Fulham.

Palmer and Joao Pedro both scored and assisted at Craven Cottage, where Chelsea hit the front after just 31 seconds.

Joao Pedro was played in by Palmer and calmly dispatched over Bernd Leno, bringing up Chelsea's quickest Premier League goal since 2016.

Yet Fulham showed plenty of bite in Alvaro Arbeloa's first league game at the helm, and Josh King hauled them level in the 23rd minute.

Although, Fulham's leveller owed much to an error from Robert Sanchez, who got down to King's attempt but made a mess of his save.

It was a bad day for Sanchez in general, with Chelsea's goalkeeper looking nervy throughout, and failing to cover himself in glory when Gonzalo Garcia marked his Premier League bow with a goal in the 54th minute.

Garcia's header into an empty net, with Sanchez having parried Timothy Castagne's shot back out into the danger area, came after Rogers and Palmer had put Chelsea 3-1 up.

Maxence Lacroix showed skill befitting of a top-tier forward to tee up Rogers, who slammed in his first Chelsea goal four minutes before half-time.

Rogers then played a part in Chelsea's third, early in the second half, flicking it on for Joao Pedro, who held the play up brilliantly to tee up Palmer, with the playmaker sending a crisp finish under Leno.

Garcia's effort put Chelsea on notice, and Sanchez was fortunate to get away with some dismal positioning when Antonee Robinson latched onto a punt over the top of the Blues' defence, only to put his lob wide.

That was the best Fulham could offer, though, until Rodrigo Muniz saw a long-range strike saved with the final kick of the game, just after Joao Pedro had seen a strike disallowed for offside.

Chelsea's front three deliver the goods

Rogers is the most expensive British player in history, and while there will undoubtedly be tougher games for the £117m signing, he formed part of an electric front three that should have plenty of defences concerned this term.

The former Aston Villa attacker became the first player to score on his Premier League debut for Chelsea since Christopher Nkunku in December 2023 versus Wolves; he was also the first Blues player to have 3+ shots (three) and create 3+ chances (four) in the first half of his debut for the club on record since 2003-04.

In fact, Rogers is also the first Chelsea player to create five chances on his Premier League debut for the club on record. Not a bad start.

Palmer endured a difficult season by his lofty standards in 2025-26, and missed out on a place in England's World Cup squad, but he was scintillating here. His pass through to Joao Pedro for Chelsea's opener - the earliest ever goal scored by a team in their opening game of a Premier League campaign - was sublime, and his finish for the Blues' third was cool and collected.

Since making his Premier League debut for Chelsea in September 2023, only Mohamed Salah (15) and Ollie Watkins (10) have both scored and assisted in more games than Palmer (nine).

Joao Pedro, meanwhile, will be hoping to be in the Golden Boot conversation this season. He had four shots, a tally bettered only by Palmer (five), and teed up two chances.

It's an ideal start for Alonso, whose starting XI had an average age of 24 years and 43 days. That puts him fifth on the list of managers with the youngest XI in their first Premier League game in charge.