Jack and Loz Not at Stamford Bridge……Because It’s Literally Falling Down - Blog 294

Date: 26th December 2024

Opposition: Chelsea

Score: 1-2

Fulham goal scorers: Harry “who put the ball in the Palace/Brentford/Chelsea net” Wilson, Rodrigo “he’s f**king magic” Muniz

MOTM: we could give the award to so many players - Leno for a goalkeeping masterclass, Issa Diop King of the Defence, Timothy Castagne understated but indispensable, Sasa Lukić for showcasing how to play CDM when you’re on a yellow card (and that assist!) not to mention both goal scorers, Iwobi and Robinson for their drive and energy and….. the Genius who made it all happen, but in an end to end game no one was more end to end and no one worked harder or smarter than Calvin Bassey - the man who made Five at the Back an attacking formation

Snacks: Loz - macadamia nuts and Shiraz, Jack - Yule log and Sauvignon blanc

Nearest neighbours, fiercest rivals, oldest enemies.

Other London derbies don’t really matter; QPR and Brentford don’t really count. There is one fixture that Fulham fans look for first when the schedule comes out each year, there is one match we would give anything to win. We beat Chelsea at the Cottage two seasons ago and it was amazing but beating them away is the Holy Grail for Fulham fans.

This is the encounter that really matters, this is the rivalry that really burns; this is the match that means the most.

And we hadn’t won it since 1979.

We ended our blog on the dismal and disappointing 0-0 draw with Southampton predicting that we’d soon be singing our manager’s and team’s praises once more. But we didn’t really expect that to happen on Boxing Day when injury-hit Fulham would play a team challenging for the title…..did we?

One of the most unexpected (and Fulhamish) things about this season is the team’s uncanny ability to perform well against, and take points off, teams above us in the table whilst struggling against those below. As we are climbing the table this is potentially problematic but it’s a problem for another day.

Despite our excellent record against good teams (and Spurs) recently fans were still worried about our injury crisis - did Marco actually have a player in every position to pick? Fortunately, Andersen was back and Castagne, Harry and Lukić who all finished the Southampton game clutching various body parts were ok. Berge was a big miss (literally); less so ESR.

To compensate for the loss of Berge, or because Chelsea are prolific scorers, Marco decided to play Five at the Back for probably the first time in his career. But this wasn’t one of his off-the-wall experiments, like when he went through that triple sub phase or brought Vini on against Southampton. This was up there with Michaelangelo’s plans for the Sistine Chapel.

The Famous Five have played together a lot and know each other well but they haven’t played as a Back Five before. Two things became obvious very early in the game - the Five looked like they’d been playing in that formation for two seasons not two days; and they weren’t a traditional, defensive back Five at all.

At different Moments, one of the Five would venture forward and the others would shapeshift into a back four. It was usually Antonee - with the speed of a cheetah and the stamina of a camel he can bomb up and down the wing all day. Timothy Castagne is as consistent as a metronome and as reliable as a quartz watch - if he attacks, he’s never going to be caught out of position. But it wasn’t a case of a solid centre three letting the full backs do all the running. No one was more impressive at going forward than the tank-like Calvin Bassey, ramming everything from his path. Issa is an expert at everything these days including turning defence into attack, and if Andersen didn’t go forward as much, it was because you can only do long diagonal passes from your own half.

The formation not only meant all our best available defenders could play, they brought out the best in each other - a mini team within a team. It also created space for the midfielders to exploit while (mainly) containing Chelsea’s attacks.

The first half was an untidy affair. Fulham looked secure in their unfamiliar formation but gave the ball away a lot in a familiar way. Raúl had some shots which we will generously call near misses and Bassey nearly scored at the end of a heavy cavalry charge. But Leno was by far the busier of the two goalkeepers and, as superb as he was, he couldn’t keep out Cole Palmer’s neat finish when the Famous Five all forgot how to tackle at the same time.

Other notable first half Moments include Adama obviously enjoying his physical battle with his compatriot Cucurella (people who can lip read Spanish will have seen the words “pelo estúpido” more than once) and Bassey’s stunning block at the death.

At half time, we were a goal down in the derby - but with everything still to play for.

The second half began with Fulham pegged back and penned in. Leno was forced to make an outstanding athletic save and hearts sank when Chelsea scored their second. But the goal was ruled out and the game was on.

From a close but averagely entertaining encounter, the match exploded into a classic derby - it was end to end stuff with shots flying, players racing and chaos at both ends of the pitch. Raúl forced a mistake from the Chelsea goalie but couldn’t capitalise on it, Iwobi went close and a huge chance fell to Antonee who just couldn’t squeeze it past the keeper.

Fortunately, Marco has moved on from his dalliance with his Experimental Subs Philosophy and he used his replacements like the Genius he is, bringing on the right people at the right time.

Super sub and master of the late, late goal Harry Wilson screeched onto the pitch and immediately almost got on the end of a long ball. He was followed by Tom looking a lot more polished than last week and Muniz looking a lot more….er visible than last week.

Chelsea looked tired and flat; Fulham looked full of energy and creativity. The defenders were still blasting forward, Lukić was still full of running and Fulham were throwing everything at the match.

Alex Iwobi created Fulham’s first goal at the Bridge since 2011. He rode the challenge of a desperate Pedro Neto and slid the ball to Antonee. Antonee flicked it to Castagne. Castagne’s cushioned header was so good that no fewer than 7 Chelsea players (including Tosin but not Neto who was still rolling on the pitch) watched it float onto Harry’s head. Harry nodded it into the net.

The Fulham players, fans, bench, manager and commentators went wild. Pedro Neto rolled over again.

One of the most incredible things about those closing Moments was that a point always felt secure. Fulham had grabbed control and Chelsea had no response. The only question was - could we score again? The Famous Five weren’t sitting back, the forwards were fighting hard and just in case any Fulham fans weren’t already convinced he’s the best human being on the planet, Marco brought Sess on in an attacking role.

Fulham’s first winning goal at the Bridge since 1979 was, fittingly, a tremendous team effort involving Castagne, Harry, a perfect cross from Lukić and a composed finished from Muniz. Fittingly, Sess was first on the scene to celebrate.

The Fulham players, fans, bench, manager and commentators went berserk. Pedro Neto might have still been rolling around but who cares?!

Chelsea rallied as the ref added on ever more minutes and Leno made another terrific save. He was a hero in a team of heroes. They went out in an untried formation, missing some of their teammates. They fought and dug in and never gave up.

Fulham defied expectations and triumphed against the odds. They gave us what we wanted more than anything. The first win at Stamford Bridge in a generation; a result for the ages.

Random musings:-

- If Cucurella didn’t have stupid hair he might have scored his first half header

- The ref had a very good game

- Tosin wouldn’t get into Fulham’s team anymore

- Five Run Riot at Stamford Bridge isn’t an Enid Blyton book, but it should be

- For those forced to watch on Amazon “Prime” the commentary was appalling - biased and incompetent. The two people clearly couldn’t get jobs anywhere else, including Sainsburys. The man was embarrassingly amateur. The woman wasn’t much better but at least she didn’t get Iwobi and Bassey mixed up

- The groundsmen found Neto still rolling around on the pitch after everyone else had gone home.

This was a win that smells like team spirit. The players believed in each other, their manager and the Club. They understood what they were fighting for. They did it for us.

And judging by their celebrations and social media interactions they loved that win as much as we did. We all have our favourites but this is a special group.

So, where do we go from here? Christmas is always an important staging post in a football season. Fulham are 8th, one point off 5th and there is a justified sense that we could be higher up the table, that we could have more.

But, for now, that doesn’t matter. Victory at Stamford Bridge is enough.